Stimuli-Responsive Surfactant/Phospholipid Stabilized Colloidal Dispersions and Their Film Formation

Abstract

Methyl methacrylate (MMA) and n-butyl acrylate (nBA) were copolymerized into stable colloidal particles in the presence of micelle forming sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate (SDOSS) and liposome forming 1,2-dilauroyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DLPC) in aqueous media that serve as thermodynamically stable loci for lipophilic monomers and nanostructured templates. These studies show for the first time that hollow colloidal particles may coalesce to form polymeric films and the combination of SDOSS and DLPC dispersing agents provides a stimuli-responsive environment during film formation through which individual surface stabilizing components can be driven to the film-air (F-A) or film-substrate (F-S) interface. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) of p-MMA/nBA colloidal dispersions revealed preferential and enhanced mobility of SDOSS and DLPC lipid rafts to the F-A and F-S interfaces in response to thermal, ionic, and enzymatic stimuli.