Controlled formation of chitosan particles by a clock reaction.

Panzarasa, Guido; Osypova, Alina; Sicher, Alba; Bruinink, Arie; Dufresne, Eric R · Soft Matter · 2018

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Clock reactions allow precise control of chemical composition in the time domain. Such nonlinear chemical systems have recently been introduced to mimic the self-assembly pathways common in living organisms. Here, we demonstrate the use of a clock reaction to trigger the formation of polymeric nanoparticles. By adjusting the delay of a formaldehyde clock reaction, we controlled the precipitation of chitosan to form particles with sizes tunable in a wide range (from about 200 to 600 nm diameter). The chemical structure of chitosan was not significantly perturbed by the clock reagents.