Phase transition behaviors of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) nanogels with different compositions induced by (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and ethyl gallate (EG) has been investigated systematically. Monodisperse poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-N-hydroxymethyl acrylamide) (P(NIPAM-co-NMAM)) and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (P(NIPAM-co-HEMA)) nanogels with different feeding monomer ratios were prepared by emulsion polymerization. P(NIPAM-co-NMAM) nanogels exhibit rapid isothermal phase transition behavior in EGCG solutions with low concentration (10-3 mol/L) in less than 10 minutes. The thermosensitive phase transition behaviors of nanogels are affected not only by the copolymerized monomers but also by the concentrations of EGCG and EG in aqueous solutions. Nanogels remain in a shrunken state and do not exhibit thermosensitive phase transition behaviors in EGCG solutions (≥5 mmol/L), whereas they display thermo-responsive phase transition behaviors in EG solutions. The volume phase transition temperature (VPTT) shifts to lower temperatures with increasing EG concentration. The diameters of P(NIPAM-co-NMAM) nanogels decrease with increasing EG concentration at temperatures between 29 and 33 °C. In contrast, the diameters of P(NIPAM-co-HEMA) nanogels increase with increasing EGCG concentration at temperatures between 37 and 45 °C. The results demonstrate the potential of nanogels for simple detection of EG and EGCG concentrations in aqueous solutions over a wide temperature range, and EGCG can serve as a signal for the burst-release of drugs from the P(NIPAM-co-NMAM)-based carriers at physiological temperature.
Keywords: (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate; phase transition; poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate); poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-N-hydroxymethyl acrylamide); thermo-responsive nanogel.