Preparation of thermoresponsive nanoparticles exhibiting biomolecule recognition ability via atom transfer radical dispersion polymerization.

Thermoresponsive core-corona type nanoparticles were prepared exhibiting biomolecule recognition ability on their surfaces. These thermoresponsive nanoparticles were prepared from a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) macro-initiator and styrene (St) in a polar solvent via atom transfer radical dispersion polymerization. The PNIPAAm macro-initiator contains an alkyl halide and/or phthalimide group on the terminated group of the polymer chain, and thus, the grafting of PNIPAAm on the PSt core resulted in terminating phthalimide end groups. These terminal groups were utilized to immobilize biomolecule recognition units, and the dispersion stabilities of the nanoparticles were found to change in aqueous solution at room temperature due to alteration of the terminating PNIPAAm groups by the presence of biomolecules at different concentrations.