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Updated: Jul 15, 2026

Magnetic and Thermal-sensitive Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-based Microgels for Magnetically Triggered Controlled Release
Published on: July 4, 2017
Core-shell magnetite nanoparticles surface encapsulated with smart stimuli-responsive polymer: synthesis,
J L Zhang1, R S Srivastava, R D K Misra
1Center for Structural and Functional Materials and Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana 70504, USA.
Abstract:
We describe here the synthesis of a novel magnetic drug-targeting carrier characterized by a core-shell structure. The core-shell carrier combines the advantages of a magnetic core and the stimuli-responsive property of the thermosensitive biodegradable polymer shell (e.g., an on-off mechanism responsive to external temperature change). The composite nanoparticles are approximately 8 nm in diameter with approximately 3 nm shell. The lower critical solution temperature (LCST) is approximately 38 degrees C as determined by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. The carrier is composed of cross-linked dextran grafted with a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-N,N-dimethylacrylamide) [dextran-g-poly(NIPAAm-co-DMAAm)] shell and superparamagnetic Fe3O4 core. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed the composition of the carrier. The synthesized magnetic carrier system has potential applications in magnetic drug-targeting delivery and magnetic resonance imaging.
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