A non-crystallization-driven strategy for the preparation of non-spherical polymeric nanoparticles.

To fabricate precisely defined non-spherical nanostructures like those widely exist in the biological domain by self-assembly of synthetic polymers without employing crystallization-driven forces is still a great challenge. In this study, we report a strategy to fabricate nanoparticles with advanced hierarchical architectures using styrene and methacrylic as monomers and maleamic acid-α-methyl styrene copolymer as a macroinitiator by polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA). The structure of the prepared particles changed from common spherical micelles to cubes with edge lengths ranging from 50 to 200 nm when the solvent was 50 wt% ethanol in water and the monomer molar ratio of styrene to 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate was 3:1.