Dual-responsive nanogels based on oligo (ethylene glycol) methacrylates and acidic co-monomers

MACCHIONE, MICAELA; SACARELLI, FLORENCIA; RACCA, ANA C.; BIGLIONE, CATALINA; PANZETTA-DUTARI, G.M.; STRUMIA, M C

SOFT MATTER

ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY

Lugar: Cambridge; Año: 2019

1744-683X

thylene glycol-based nanogels (NGs) have demonstrated the potential for the development of next-generation formulations for biomedical applications due to their interesting properties. In this work, monodispersed NGs based on oligo (ethylene glycol) methacrylates (OEG) were synthetized through free radical precipitation/dispersion polymerization assisted by ultrasonication. 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylate (MEO2MA) and oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (OEGMA) were used as main monomers, acrylic acid (AA) or itaconic acid (IA) as co-monomers and tetraethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) as crosslinker. Physicochemical properties of OEG-co-AA and OEG-co-IA NGs were studied including hydrodynamic diameter, poly-dispersity index, surface charge and pH/T responsiveness. Samples with 4% of both AA and of IA showed nanometric sizes. With respect to the thermal behaviour, some unexpected differences between nanogels with acrylic acid or with itaconic acid were observed. Besides, go