The morphology of phenolic polymers enzymatically synthesized in surfactant microstructures

Currently, there is much interest in materials synthesis through biomimetic pathways [1,2]. Biological and biomimetic routes to polymer and particle synthesis lead to materials with novel structural properties that can be replicated with rather high fidelity [3]. We report morphological characteristics of the enzymatic synthesis of phenolic polymers in the microstructured environment of water-in-oil microemulsions or reversed micelles. The enzyme, horseradish peroxidase, is encapsulated in the micelles. The synthesis appears to be an example of interfacial polymerization as the monomer partitions to the micelle oil-water interface. The final polymer has the interesting morphology of interconnected spherical particles. The microstructured environment appears to play an important role in morphology development, and a high surfactant to monomer ratio (> 3:1) allows the formation of spherical morphologies.