Ns. Kommareddi et al., ENZYMATIC POLYMERIZATIONS USING SURFACTANT MICROSTRUCTURES AND THE PREPARATION OF POLYMER-FERRITE COMPOSITES, Applied biochemistry and biotechnology, 51-2, 1995, pp. 241-252
Horseradish peroxidase has been used as a biocatalyst to synthesize a
polymeric material from alkyl-substituted phenols. The synthesis is ca
rried out in a surfactant-based microemulsion environment, with the mo
nomer partitioned at the oil/water interface. The spherical nature of
the microemulsion nanodroplets may be acting as a template for the pol
ymer synthesis. The resultant polymer particles are spherical and typi
cally in the submicron size range. The characteristics of the morpholo
gy development are described. The templating effect of the surfactant
environment becomes more evident when the polymer particles are fully
dissolved in a suitable solvent and refolded in the presence of surfac
tant. Interestingly, submicron-sized spherical particles are obtained
only in the presence of surfactant, and particles of arbitrary morphol
ogy are seen in the absence of surfactant. Aspects of morphology devel
opment leading to the preparation of polymer-iron oxide composites are
described.