Temperature-Responsive Lactic Acid-Based Nanoparticles by RAFT-Mediated Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly in Water

[Image: see text] This work demonstrates for the first-time biobased, temperature-responsive diblock copolymer nanoparticles synthesized by reversible addition–fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) aqueous emulsion polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA). Here, monomers derived from green solvents of the lactic acid portfolio, N,N-dimethyl lactamide acrylate (DMLA) and ethyl lactate acrylate (ELA), were used. First, DMLA was polymerized by RAFT aqueous solution polymerization to produce a hydrophilic PDMLA macromolecular chain transfer agent (macro-CTA), which was chain extended with ELA in water to form amphiphilic PDMLA-b-PELA diblock copolymer nanoparticles by RAFT aqueous emulsion polymerization. PDMLA(x) homopolymers were synthesized targeting degrees of polymerization, DP(x) from 25 to 400, with relatively narrow molecular weight dispersities (Đ < 1.30). The PDMLA(64)-b-PELA(y) diblock copolymers (DP(y) = 10–400) achieved dispersities, Đ, between 1.18 and 1.54 with two distinct glass transition temperatures (T(g)) identified by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). T(g(1)) (7.4 to 15.7 °C) representative of PELA and T(g(2)) (69.1 to 79.7 °C) of PDMLA. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) studies gave particle z-average diameters between 11 and 74 nm (PDI = 0.04 to 0.20). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed evidence of spherical particles when dispersions were dried at ∼5 °C and film formation when dried at room temperature. Many of these polymers exhibited a reversible lower critical solution temperature (LCST) in water with a concomitant increase in z-average diameter for the PDMLA-b-PELA diblock copolymer nanoparticles.