Polyelectrolyte-coated polymer dots and related methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10067139-B2
Application number	US-201314373835-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 1, 2013
Priority date	Feb 3, 2012
Publication date	Sep 4, 2018
Grant date	Sep 4, 2018

Abstract

Polymer nanoparticles and related methods include polymer dots having a coating including a polyelectrolyte polymer. The polymer dots can have a polyelectrolyte coating that can improve colloidal stability of the particles as compared to polymer dots not having the coating. A method of preparing a population of nanoparticles. The methods can include, e.g., providing the population of nanoparticles having a condensed semiconducting polymer; and combining, in a first aqueous solution comprising polyelectrolytes, the population of nanoparticles having the condensed semiconducting polymer to form a population of nanoparticles having a polyelectrolyte coating surrounding the condensed semiconducting polymer of each of the nanoparticles in the population. The methods can include a step of forming the condensed semiconducting polymer using nanoprecipitation or miniemulsion techniques. The polyelectrolyte coating can completely surround the condensed semiconducting polymer.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A nanoparticle comprising:
a semiconducting polymer selected from: a fluorene-containing polymer, a benzothiazole-containing polymer, a carbazole fluorene-containing polymer, a boron-dipyrromethene-based polymer or a blend thereof; and
a polyelectrolyte coating comprising a polyelectrolyte polymer selected from: a poly(styrene sulfonate), a polyphosphate, a polyacrylate, a polymethacrylate, a polyacrylate-co-maleate, a polyacrylamide, a chitosan, a polysaccharide, a polylysine, a polyhistidine, a polypeptide, or a blend thereof,

wherein the polyelectrolyte coating surrounds the semiconducting polymer.

2. The nanoparticle of claim 1 , wherein the polyelectrolyte coating completely surrounds the semiconducting polymer.

3. The nanoparticle of claim 1 , comprising a plurality of semiconducting polymers surrounded by the polyelectrolyte coating layer.

4. The nanoparticle of claim 3 , wherein the plurality of semiconducting polymers are physically blended or chemically crosslinked together.

5. The nanoparticle of claim 1 , wherein each repeating unit of the polyelectrolyte polymer comprises the charge group selected from the group consisting of carboxyl, sulfonate, phosphate, amino, hydroxyl, and mercapto.

6. The nanoparticle of claim 1 , wherein the polyelectrolyte coating comprises one type of polyelectrolyte.

7. The nanoparticle of claim 1 , wherein the polyelectrolyte coating comprises a first polyelectrolyte and a second polyelectrolyte.

8. The nanoparticle of claim 7 , wherein a first polyelectrolyte:second polyelectrolyte ratio is greater than about 0.9:1.

9. The nanoparticle of claim 1 , further comprising an anti-sticking agent.

10. The nanoparticle of claim 9 , wherein the anti-sticking agent is selected from the group consisting of a polyalkylene glycol, a polysaccharide, and a dextran.

11. The nanoparticle of claim 1 , wherein the nanoparticle has a zeta potential more positive than +30 mV or more negative than −30 mV.

12. The nanoparticle of claim 1 , wherein at least 80% of repeating units of the polyelectrolyte polymer comprise an electrolyte group.

13. The nanoparticle of claim 1 , wherein the polyelectrolyte coating has a thickness from 2-4 nm.

Assignees

• Univ Washington Through Its Center For Commercialization

Inventors

• Chiu Daniel T
• Jin Yuhui
• Ye Fangmao
• Wu Changfeng
• Chan Yang-Hsiang

Classifications

• G01N33/588 Primary

  with semiconductor nanocrystal label, e.g. quantum dots · CPC title

• A61K49/0065

  the luminescent/fluorescent agent having itself a special physical form, e.g. gold nanoparticle · CPC title

• B82Y15/00

  Nanotechnology for interacting, sensing or actuating, e.g. quantum dots as markers in protein assays or molecular motors · CPC title

• B82Y40/00 Primary

  Manufacture or treatment of nanostructures · CPC title

• B82Y5/00

  Nanobiotechnology or nanomedicine, e.g. protein engineering or drug delivery · CPC title