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Updated: Apr 20, 2026
Magnetic and Thermal-sensitive PolyN-isopropylacrylamide-based Microgels for Magnetically Triggered Controlled Release
Published on: July 4, 2017
Temperature controlled fluorescence on Au@Ag@PNIPAM-PTEBS microgels: effect of the metal core size on the MEF
Rafael Contreras-Caceres1, Paulino Alonso-Cristobal, Diego Mendez-Gonzalez
1Department of Organic Chemistry, Science Faculty, Málaga University , Málaga 29071, Spain.
Abstract:
In this work, we present a novel method to produce thermoresponsive, monodisperse microgels which display temperature-dependent photoluminescence. The system is based on bimetallic cores of Au@Ag encapsulated within thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) microgels and coated with a photoluminescent polymer (poly[2-(3-thienyl)ethoxy-4-butylsulfonate] (PTEBS) using the Layer-by-Layer technique. The electromagnetic radiation used to excite the PTEBS induces a local electromagnetic field on the surface of the bimetallic cores that enhances the excitation and emission rates of the PTEBS, yielding a metal enhanced fluorescence (MEF). This effect was studied as a function of the bimetallic core size and the separation distance between the PTEBS and the bimetallic cores. Our results permit evaluation of the effect that the metallic core size of colloidal particles exerts on the MEF for the first time, and prove the relevance of the metallic cores to extend the effect far away from the metallic surface.
