Ricerc@Sapienza

Interpenetrated polymer network microgels, composed of crosslinked networks of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) and Polyacrylic acid (PAAc), have been investigated through rheological measurements at four different amounts of Polyacrylic acid. Both PAAc content and crosslinking degree modify particle dimensions, mass and softness, thereby strongly affecting the volume fraction and the system viscosity.

Nature suggests that complex materials result from a hierarchical organization of matter at different length scales. At the nano- and micrometer scale, macromolecules and supramolecular aggregates spontaneously assemble into supracolloidal structures whose complexity is given by the coexistence of various colloidal entities and the specific interactions between them.

To study the formation and characterize the structure of mixed complexes of oppositely charged block copolymers and surfactants are of great significance for practical applications, e.g., in drug carrier formulations that are based on electrostatically assisted assembly. In this context, biocompatible block copolymers and biosurfactants (like bile salts) are particularly interesting.