CO2/pH-responsive particles with built-in fluorescence read-out

Anne B. Mabire; Quentin Brouard; Anaïs Pitto-Barry; Rebecca J. Williams; Helen Willcock; Nigel Kirby; Emma Chapman; Rachel K. O'Reilly

doi:10.1039/C6PY01254J

CO₂/pH-responsive particles with built-in fluorescence read-out†

Anne B. Mabire,^a Quentin Brouard,^a Anaïs Pitto-Barry,

^a Rebecca J. Williams,^a Helen Willcock,^a Nigel Kirby,^b Emma Chapman^c and Rachel K. O'Reilly*^a

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a University of Warwick, Department of Chemistry, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
E-mail: R.K.O-Reilly@warwick.ac.uk

^b Australian Synchrotron, 800 Blackburn Road, Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia

^c BP Exploration Operating Company, Ltd., Chertsey Road, Sunbury-on-Thames, UK

Abstract

A novel fluorescent monomer was synthesized to probe the state of CO₂-responsive cross-linked polymeric particles. The fluorescent emission of this aminobromomaleimide-bearing monomer, being sensitive to protic environments, can provide information on the core hydrophilicity of the particles and therefore indicates the swollen state and size of the particles. The particles’ core, synthesized from DEAEMA (N,N-diethylaminoethyl methacrylate), is responsive to CO₂ through protonation of the tertiary amines of DEAEMA. The response is reversible and the fluorescence emission can be recovered by simply bubbling nitrogen into the particle solution. Alternate purges of CO₂ and N₂ into the particles’ solution allow several ON/OFF fluorescence emission cycles and simultaneous particle swelling/shrinking cycles.

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Article information

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C6PY01254J
Article type: Paper
Submitted: 20 jul 2016
Accepted: 29 aug 2016
First published: 06 sep 2016
This article is Open Access

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Polym. Chem., 2016,7, 5943-5948

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CO₂/pH-responsive particles with built-in fluorescence read-out

A. B. Mabire, Q. Brouard, A. Pitto-Barry, R. J. Williams, H. Willcock, N. Kirby, E. Chapman and R. K. O'Reilly, Polym. Chem., 2016, 7, 5943 DOI: 10.1039/C6PY01254J

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Polymer Chemistry