Metastable supramolecular polymer nanoparticles via intramolecular collapse of single polymer chains

E Johan Foster; Erik B Berda; E W Meijer

doi:10.1021/ja901687d

Metastable supramolecular polymer nanoparticles via intramolecular collapse of single polymer chains

J Am Chem Soc. 2009 May 27;131(20):6964-6. doi: 10.1021/ja901687d.

Authors

E Johan Foster¹, Erik B Berda, E W Meijer

Affiliation

¹ Institute for Complex Molecular Systems and Laboratory of Macromolecular and Organic Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.

PMID: 19405473
DOI: 10.1021/ja901687d

Abstract

We present an elegant approach for fabricating polymeric nanoparticles via the reversible noncovalent intramolecular cross-linking of single polymer chains. By protecting the well-studied 2-ureido-pyrimidinone moiety with an o-nitrobenzyl group, we have introduced a latent quadruple hydrogen bonding motif. Incorporating this group into linear poly(norbornenes) creates a class of supramolecular materials that can be readily dissolved and subsequently cross-linked upon irradiation with UV light, eliminating the need for selective solvent techniques. This is a facile method for producing well-defined particles with narrow polydispersity as confirmed by atomic force microscopy. By virtue of the nature of the intramolecular cross-linking (supramolecular interactions of pendant groups), these metastable nanoparticles are akin to folded biomacromolecules, representing the first step in linking synthetic polymers and self-folded biopolymers.