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. 2021 Apr 2;13(14):15959–15972. doi: 10.1021/acsami.0c21349

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Preparation and characterization of TR-Cubes and TR-DOXO. (a) Scheme of the preparation of TR-Cubes by photoinduced atom transfer radical polymerization and DOXO loading process. IONCs (18 ± 2 nm) first underwent ligand exchange with catechol functionalized ATRP initiators (green–orange molecule) to introduce polymerization initiating sites directly on the nanocube surface. In the second step, monomers and copper catalyst addition under exposure to a UV lamp induce the formation of a P(DEGMA-co-PEGMA) thermoresponsive polymer shell after only 3 h reaction. (b) Transmittance vs temperature curve of TR-Cubes used in this study, resulting in an LCST of 43 °C. (c) TEM image of TR-Cubes (blue frame) and TR-DOXO (red frame). (d) Hydrodynamic size by number for TR-Cubes (blue curve) and TR-DOXO (red curve). Insets of the TEM image of TR-Cubes (blue frame) and TR-DOXO (red frame) showing the polymer shell.