Size Regulation of Polydopamine Nanoparticles by Boronic Acid and Lewis Base

• Published in: Macromolecular rapid communications. Vol. 44; no. 1; pp. e2100916 - n/a
• Main Authors: Huang, Chuhao, Wang, Xianheng, Yang, Peng, Shi, Shun, Duan, Gaigai, Liu, Xianhu, Li, Yiwen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.01.2023
• Subjects: Absorption spectra; Acids; boronic acid; Boronic Acids; Dopamine; Esters; Free radicals; Indoles - chemistry; Lewis base; Lewis Bases; Melanin; Monomers; Nanoparticles; Nanoparticles - chemistry; Particle size; polydopamine; Polymerization; Scavenging; size regulation; boronic acid; size regulation; polydopamine
• ISSN: 1022-1336; 1521-3927; 1521-3927
• DOI: 10.1002/marc.202100916

Size regulation of polydopamine nanoparticles (PDA NPs) is vital to melanin‐inspired materials. The general strategy usually focuses on tuning of the reaction parameters which could affect the dopamine (DA) monomer polymerization process, such as pH, temperature, monomer concentration, etc. The reaction between boronic acids and catechols to form boronic esters has been widely applied in many fields, but little attention has been paid in the size regulation of PDA NPs. Here, it is speculated that the fine size regulation of PDA NPs can be directly achieved by using boronic acids and Lewis base molecules. It is found that these issues could indeed significantly affect the stability of the boronic esters formed by boronic acids and DA, which may further inhibit the monomer polymerization kinetics and tune the particle size of the resulting PDA NPs. It is also found that the several intrinsic properties of PDA NPs such as the free radical scavenging ability, UV spectral absorption, photothermal behavior, and structural color all change with the particle size. It is believed that this work can provide new opportunities for fabricating melanin‐inspired PDA NPs with well controlled size and properties. A strategy to rigorously control and fine tune the particle size of polydopamine nanoparticles by using boronic acid derivatives and Lewis bases is proposed, which could affect the stability of the formed boronic ester intermediates and the particle size of the final resulting nanoparticles.