Nanocomposites and nanomaterials

Stimuli-responsive ternary core/shell nanocomposites of polystyrene/poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)
Yu.V. Noskov1, O.M.Chepurna2, L.O. Vretik3, T. Y. Ohulchanskyy2, O.A. Nikolaeva3, A.I. Marynin4, N.A. Ogurtsov1, A.A. Pud1 
1V.P. Kukhar Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry and Petrochemistry of NAS of Ukraine, 50 Kharkivske shose, Kyiv, 02160, Ukraine
E-mail: alexander.pud@gmail.com
2Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Devices and Systems of Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518060, People’s Republic of China
3Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Volodymyrska Str. 64/13, Kyiv-01601, Ukraine. 
E-mail: lvretik@gmail.com
4National University of Food Technologies, Volodymyrska Str. 68, Kyiv, Ukraine.

Intrinsically conducting polymers (ICPs) in addition to interesting physical and chemical properties have unique light absorbing ability combined with sensitivity to different external stimuli. Unifying IPCs with stimuli-responsive polymers in nanocomposite particles opens great possibilities for their applications in sensors and biomedical platforms [1]. Our work is devoted to synthesis and investigation of stimuli-responsive core-shell nanoparticles of polystyrene (PS) coated with the shell of stimuli-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) containing one of the most important ICP representatives poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) doped by surface active dodecyl sulfate anions. First, 130 nm PS/PNIPAM nanoparticles latex were prepared by miniemulsion polymerization of the monomers. The latex was then used as a medium for oxidative polymerization of EDOT to synthesize PS/PNIPAM-PEDOT nanocomposite latexes with different contents of PEDOT. Physico-chemical, stability and stimuli-responsive properties of the synthesized conducting latexes were studied. Their applicability in bio-medical applications was estimated.
1.	Qian C., Chen Y., Feng P., Xiao X., Dong M., Yu J., Hu Q., Shen Q., Gu Z. Conjugated polymer nanomaterials for theranostics // Acta Pharmacol. Sin. – 2017. – 38. – P. 764–781.