Selenium Nanoparticles Stabilized by Amphiphilic Molecular Brushes with Varying Degrees of Polymerization of Side Chains: Spectral and Structural-Morphological Characteristics

Amphiphilic molecular brushes or graft copolymers (graft-CPs) with a hydrophobic polyimide main chain and hydrophilic side chains of polymethacrylic acid (PMAA) at high degrees of polymerization m of the side chains and high grafting densities can potentially be used as nanocontainers for targeted delivery of drugs/agents. In the present work, the loaded agent were selenium nanoparticles in the zero-valent form (Se0) possessing a set of unique properties: photoelectric, semiconductor, catalytic, and biomedical properties. A comparative study of free graft copolymers (with a varied degree of polymerization of the hydrophilic PMAA side chains) and graft copolymers loaded with selenium nanoparticles was performed by a wide range of methods (UV/visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, dynamic/electrophoretic light scattering, and atomic force and transmission electron microscopy). The topology of graft-CPs was shown to affect the structural-morphological and spectral characteristics of both free amphiphilic molecular brushes and brushes loaded with selenium nanoparticles.