A Patterned Butyl Methacrylate-<i>co</i>-2-Hydroxyethyl Acrylate Copolymer with Softening Surface and Swelling Capacity
Laia León-Boigues,
Catalina von Bilderling,
Lía I. Pietrasanta,
Omar Azzaroni,
Juan M. Giussi,
Carmen Mijangos
Affiliations
Laia León-Boigues
Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Polímeros, ICTP-CSIC, Juan de la Cierva 3, 28006 Madrid, Spain
Catalina von Bilderling
Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas (INIFTA)–Departamento de Química–Facultad de Ciencias Exactas-Universidad Nacional de La Plata–CONICET, 1900 La Plata, Argentina
Lía I. Pietrasanta
Departamento de Física, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, C1428EHA Buenos Aires, Argentina
Omar Azzaroni
Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas (INIFTA)–Departamento de Química–Facultad de Ciencias Exactas-Universidad Nacional de La Plata–CONICET, 1900 La Plata, Argentina
Juan M. Giussi
Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas (INIFTA)–Departamento de Química–Facultad de Ciencias Exactas-Universidad Nacional de La Plata–CONICET, 1900 La Plata, Argentina
Carmen Mijangos
Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Polímeros, ICTP-CSIC, Juan de la Cierva 3, 28006 Madrid, Spain
The tunable swelling and mechanical properties of nanostructures polymers are crucial parameters for the creation of adaptive devices to be used in diverse fields, such as drug delivery, nanomedicine, and tissue engineering. We present the use of anodic aluminum oxide templates as a nanoreactor to copolymerize butyl methacrylate and 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate under radical conditions. The copolymer obtained under confinement showed significant differences with respect to the same copolymer obtained in bulk conditions. Molecular weights, molecular weight dispersities, Young’s modulus, and wetting behaviors were significantly modified. The combination of selected monomers allowed us to obtain nanopillar structures with an interesting softening surface and extraordinary swelling capacity that could be of special interest to surface science and specifically, cell culture.