Abstract
Multifunctional nanosized polymer colloids attract considerable attention, as they have a potential for drug delivery, can serve as nanoreactors for formation of nanoparticles with catalytic, magnetic and optical properties and as templates for synthesis of organic and inorganic materials. Block copolymer micelles are examples of dynamic polymer colloids, the characteristics of which depend on a number of conditions. Dendrimers are another type of functionalized polymer colloid. The commercial availability of some dendrimers has contributed to the popularity of these polymer nanoparticles as nanoreactors and templates. A combination of self-assembly and sol-gel reaction was used for preparation of vesicular nanoparticles (called "cerasomes") derived from [3-(((N,Ndihexadecylamino)-succinyl)amino)propyl]triethoxy-silane, the layerby-layer self-assembling of which on the surfaces was also demonstrated. Organic-inorganic mesophases, called by authors "silica-grafted surfactants" (SGS), were obtained using hydrolytic condensation of octadecyldimethyl(3-trimethoxy-silylpropyl)ammonium chloride (ODMACI). Recently, we reported lamellar ordering within polymer colloids obtained by hydrolytic condensation of N-(6-aminohexyl)aminopropyltrimethoxysilane in certain conditions, but this ordering is not sufficiently stable when colloids are used as nanoreactors for metal nanoparticle formation. At the same time, preservation of internal ordering can play an important role in furnishing the spatial ordering of the nanoparticles formed within such colloids. Self-assembled nanostructures based on ODMACI can grant stable ordering under various reaction conditions. The structure of these colloids was studied.