Antifouling polymer brushes are widely utilized in biomedical applications to prevent non-specific interactions with biological fluids. They consist of surface-tethered polymer chains and are commonly formed when the chains are...

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Abstract. This paper reports the rapid synthesis of a dual-responsive copolymer through reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization under microwave irradiation. Through use of 2-ethoxycarbonothioylthio acetic acid (ECTA) as a RAFT agent, the microwave-assisted polymerization rate of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) was approximately 150 times faster than that observed under conventional heating conditions, and the resulting homopolymer can be reactivated as a macroinitiator to produce poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-block-methacrylic acid) (PNIPAM-b-PMAA) block copolymers through a similar method. Research into the detailed polymerization kinetics of the PNIPAM and PNIPAM-b-PMAA revealed living characteristics that included a linear relationship between M n and conversion, controlled molecular weights, and a relatively narrow molecular weight distribution. The solution of the block copolymers in phosphate-buffered saline buffer displayed a phase transition at a lower critical solution temperature transition of 42°C, and altering the pH from 7 to 3.5 resulted in various degrees of polymer aggregation in the solution. Cisplatin was loaded to the polymeric carrier through a ligand exchange to form a macromolecular prodrug. The observed critical micelle concentration was 0.25 mg/mL. Overall, these polymers offer considerable potential for developing a new multifunctional drug delivery system.

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The influence of Mo on the electronic states and crystalline structure, as well as morphology, phase composition, luminescence, and defects in ZnO rods grown as free-standing nanoparticles, was studied using a variety of experimental techniques. Mo has almost no influence on the luminescence of the grown ZnO particles, whereas shallow donors are strongly affected in ZnO rods. Annealing in air causes exciton and defect-related bands to drop upon Mo doping level. The increase of the Mo doping level from 20 to 30% leads to the creation of dominating molybdates. This leads to a concomitant drop in the number of formed ZnO nanorods.