Inverse microemulsion polymerisation

Finally, very recently Shea et al. successfully employed inverse microemulsion polymerisation for the preparation of MIP beads in the tens of nanometers range using hydrophilic peptides as template molecules. In this case it was the template molecule which was prefunctionahsed with a hydrophobic chain to orient it towards the surface of the growing bead during polymerisation. The rebinding efficiency of the resulting nanoparticles was however found to depend markedly on the nature of the employed template and to be lower than that recorded with beads of similar... 

Neyret and Vincent [30] have developed such an approach for the formation of microgel particles, named inverse microemulsion polymerisation. The oil phase consisted of anionic 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonate (AMPS) and cationic (2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl) trimethylammonium (MADQUAT) monomers in addition to a BA cross-linker. The co-polymerisation was initiated using UV irradiation and the product isolated and re-dispersed in aqueous electrolyte solution to yield polyampholyte microgel particles. The particles became swollen in the presence of high electrolyte concentrations as a result of screening of the attractive electrostatic interactions between neighbouring chains. 

Inverse (or water-in-oil) emulsions (315, 401) are emulsions in which an aqueous phase is dispersed within a continuous organic phase. This system is essentially the inverse of a conventional emulsion, hence the name inverse emulsion. The organic phase is typically an inert hydrocarbon (such as mixed xylenes or low-odour kerosenes), and the aqueous phase contains a water-soluble monomer such as acrylamide (268). The aqueous phase may be dispersed as discrete droplets or as a bicontinuous phase (335), depending upon the formulation and conditions of the inverse emulsion. The hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) value of the stabiliser determines the form and stability of an inverse emulsion, with HLB values of less than 7 being appropriate for inverse emulsions. Steric stabilisers such as the Span , Tween , and Plutonic series of nonionic surfactants are usually used in preparing inverse emulsions. Inverse emulsions, suspensions, miniemulsions (199), and microemulsions have been prepared, primarily as a function of the stabiliser concentration. Commercial products produced by inverse emulsion polymerisation include polyacrylamide, a water-soluble polymer used extensively as a thickener. 

The book is focusing on emulsion polymerisation in combination with both conventional and controlled radical polymerisation. Except for miniemulsion polymerisation, more exotic techniques, such as inverse emulsion polymerisation, microemulsion polymerisation and dispersion polymerisation are not covered. Chapter 1 gives a historic overview of the understanding of emulsion polymerisation, while also focusing on the solution of the... 

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