Work

Pressure-Dependence of Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) Mesoglobule Formation in Aqueous Solution

Year: 2017

Type: article

Abstract: Above their cloud point, aqueous solutions of the thermoresponsive polymer poly( N -isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) form large mesoglobules. We have carried out very small-angle neutron scattering (VSANS with q = 0.21–2.3 × 10 –3 Å –1 ) and Raman spectroscopy experiments on a 3 wt % PNIPAM solution in D 2 O at atmospheric and elevated pressures (up to 113 MPa). Raman spectroscopy reveals that, at high pressure, the polymer is less dehydrated upon crossing the cloud point. VSANS shows that the mesoglobules are significantly larger and contain more D 2 O than at atmospheric pressure. We conclude that the size of the mesoglobules and thus their growth process are closely related to the hydration state of PNIPAM.

Source: ACS Macro Letters

DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.7b00563

Authors: Bart-Jan Niebuur, Kora-Lee Claude, Simon Pinzek, Coleman Cariker, Konstantinos N. Raftopoulos, Vitaliy Pipich, Marie-Sousai Appavou, Alfons Schulte, Christine M. Papadakis

Institutions: Technical University of Munich, University of Central Florida, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum

Language: English

Topic: Hydrogels: synthesis, properties, applications

Subfield: Molecular Medicine

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: Technische Universität München

OpenAlex ID: W2762002176

FWCI: 1.118

Cites: 34

Cited by: 28

Related to: 10