Flower‐Like Colloidal Particles through Precipitation Polymerization of Redox‐Responsive Liquid Crystals

Abstract

We report on the synthesis of monodisperse,flowerlike,liquid crystalline (LC) polymer particles by precipitation polymerization of aL Cm ixture consisting of benzoica cidfunctionalizeda crylates and disulfide-functionalized diacrylates.I ntroduction of am inor amount of redox-responsive disulfide-functionalized diacrylates ( 10 wt %) induced the formation of flower-like shapes.The shape of the particles can be tuned from flower-todisk-like to spherical by elevating the polymerization temperature.The solvent environment also has ap ronounced effect on the particle size. Time-resolved TEM reveals that the final particle morphology was formed in the early stages of the polymerization and that subsequent polymerization resulted in continued particle growth without affecting the morphology.F inally,t he degradation of the particles under reducing conditions was much faster for flowerlike particles than for spherical particles,likely aresult of their higher surface-to-volume ratio.

Complex DNA Architectonics─Self-Assembly of Amphiphilic Oligonucleotides into Ribbons, Vesicles, and Asterosomes

“…A model for the evolution of the cones is presented. So far, comparable star-shaped structures were only reported based on either nanoparticles , or colloidal clusters, , whereas all types of structures presented here represent DNA-built, self-supported architectures. Ongoing research aims at the exploration of the presented vesicular DNA architectures as nanocarriers for drug delivery applications and the investigation of excitation energy transfer along the ribbons to an acceptor dye, creating artificial light-harvesting systems.…”

Liquid Crystal Emulsions: A Versatile Platform for Photonics, Sensing, and Active Matter

“…For instance, Schenning and co-workers described flower-like morphologies, in which the particle size and the number of "petals" per particle can be adjusted by modifying the emulsion polymerization conditions. [20]…”

Multifunctional 3D platforms for rapid hemostasis and wound healing: Structural and functional prospects at biointerfaces

“…In addition, the surface roughness of microscale structures is proportional to faster coagulation rates and increased strength due to the promotion of blood cell aggregation that this surface roughness permits [ 17 , 53 ] . Microspheres can also strengthen the hemostat’s intrinsic properties, allowing rapid blood clot formation and enhanced adhesion to cells and tissue [ 54 - 56 ] . Adhesive microgels are powdered microstructures and feature a high surface area.…”