One-pot formation of sugar-immobilized monodisperse polymethylmethacrylate particles by soap-free emulsion polymerization

[Display omitted] Soap-free emulsion polymerization was applied to fabricate monodisperse submicron-sized polymethylmetacrylate (PMMA) particles with β-D-glucopyranoside (glucose) groups immobilized on the surface. The immobilization was induced not by the direct surface chemical modification but rather by the coexistence of octyl-β-D-glucopyranoside dissolved in the starting water solvent. The presence of the immobilized glucose components on the particle surface was proven by the specific affinity for concanavalin A (ConA). Due to the hydrophobic nature of the PMMA matrix, the relatively hydrophilic glucose components tend to be oriented toward the outer aqueous phase, giving rise to the markedly increased adsorption of ConA, where the nonpolar octyl tail acts as the anchor to the relatively hydrophobic polymeric matrix.