A method
of preparing a variety of well-defined nanoparticles is being research at
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
 The new materials
will be particularly useful in targeted drug and gene delivery, and other
processes such as diagnostic testing, bioseperation, wastewater treatment
and in the manufacture of water-borne coatings and adhesives.
By completion
in March next year, researchers expect to have found a commercially viable
route to producing the nanomaterials in different sizes, compositions, chemical
structures and functions. The method involves a chain reaction from the
free-radical polymerisation of a vinyl monomer onto a water-soluble polymer.
The polymer
generated separates to form amphophilic core-shell nanparticles, with the
water-insoluble polymer as the core and the water-soluble polymer as the
shell. |
