Poly(vinylbenzyl chloride) microsphere synthesis and their chemical modifications

Vinylbenzyl chloride (VBC) was dispersion polymerized to give monodisperse microspheres in the presence of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) as a steric st abilizer. The effect of PVP concentration on the size and on microsphere st ability during the polymerization process was investigated. Microsphere siz e was examined when co-stabilizer molecules were employed with PVP during t he polymerization reaction. The built-in reactive chloromethyl groups of th e microspheres were the sites of the nucleophilic reaction of two amino-gro up model molecules, glucosamine (G), a hexosamine implicated in processes o f molecular recognition, and also bovine serum albumin (RSA). Elemental ana lyses and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra showed tha t poly(vinylpyrrolidone) was associated with the microsphere network. Eleme ntal analyses, attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) , and zeta potential measurements confirmed G and BSA links at the microsph ere surface.