Fabrication of functional block copolymer grafted superparamagnetic nanoparticles for targeted and controlled drug delivery

The functional block copolymer (poly(hydroyethyl acrylate-b-N-isopropylacrylamide), P(HEA-b-NIPAm)) grafted Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Fe3O4@P(HEA-b-NIPAm)) with temperature-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm) as the skin layer were designed via the consecutive surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) from the surfaces of the superparamagnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The targeted functional and temperature-sensitive nanoparticles were characterized by the FT-IR, XPS, TEM, VSM, and DLS techniques. It is expected that the multi-functional nanoparticles could be used for the targeted and controlled drug delivery.