Synthesis and application of multicomponent nanoparticles

E. Van Keuren, E. Hughes, O. Bulgin, Y. Chung, S. Taylor, H. Cartwright, L. Chen, R. Alan, A. Keegan, A. Stevens
Georgetown University,
United States

Keywords: multicomponent nanoparticles, nanoprecipitation

Summary:

Over the past several decades, a great deal of research in nanoscience has focused on multicomponent nanoparticles. The incorporation of multiple chemical species into a single particle can provide multiple functionalities, as well as new properties not observed for the individual components. However, understanding how different molecules can be assembled into a single solid phase is not always straightforward, since the formation often occurs under inhomogeneous and/or nonequilibrium conditions. My lab has been studying a number of methods for creating multicomponent nanoparticles for different applications. I will discuss some of the issues involved in getting multiple components to colocalize into nanoparticles and show several applications that we have been developing: the synthesis of nanoparticle contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging using miniemulsion polymerization, the formulation of novel copolymer nanoparticles for treating acute kidney injury, and the synthesis of liquid-core polymer-shell nanocapsules using “flash nanoprecipitation.”