OBJECTIVETo investigate the preparation method of polystyrene core-poly (acrylamide-acrylic acid) shell fluorescent microspheres.

METHODSThe polystyrene core-poly (acrylamide-acrylic acid) shell (P-(St-co-AAM)) fluorescent microspheres were prepared using fluorescent microspheres as the core and acrylamide/acrylic as polymerization monomer. Reaction conditions affecting the morphology of core-shell structure including feeding mode, initiator, cross linker, pH, concentration and swelling were studied.

RESULTFluorescent microscopy showed that the relatively uniform particle sizes were distributed in a range of 7-8 μm. Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FT-IR) proved the existence of poly (acrylamide-acrylic acid) shell and amide group on the surface. The optimal conditions for seeding polymerization: azobisisobutyronitrile was used as the initiator in the absence of cross linker, after a 40 h swelling treatment by using alcohol with the appropriate reaction temperature (70 degree), reaction time (3 h) and pH(6-7). The average dispersion and stability were 25.14 % and 90.21%, respectively. The fluorescein release percentage was kept stable at approximately 30% after 40 h.

CONCLUSIONThe fluorescent microspheres prepared by this method have core-shell structure and satisfactory fluorescence properties with good dispersion and stability.