Nanotechnology has become such an important part of most sectors in science and industry, and it is impossible to consider doing anything with nanotechnology minus nanoparticles. Among all types of nanoparticles, polystyrene nanoparticles and PMMA nanoparticles have the most distinguishing properties and their wide field of applications.
Polystyrene nanoparticles are an aromatic synthetic polymer — polystyrene. These nanoparticles find diverse applications because of their well-defined features and versatility. Polystyrene nanoparticles can be prepared by controlling their size and uniformity. This uniformity is very important with respect to biomedical research and diagnostics, as the uniformity in the size of particles allows reproducibility and accuracy in results.
These nanoparticles can easily be functionalized with different chemical groups, dyes, and biomolecules. With their surface being amenable to engineering, polystyrene nanoparticles become appropriate for various applications: targeted drug delivery, bio sensing, and acting as vehicles for therapeutic agents.
PMMA Nanoparticles
Polystyrene nanoparticles have a history of being generally biocompatible because of their suitability for use in biological applications. Polystyrene nanoparticles are known to have very good stability and durability against a number of different factors. This makes them quite useful in applications where long-term storage and stability are required, such as in diagnostics and pharmaceuticals.
PMMA nanoparticles exhibit excellent optical clarity and are transparent. This makes this nanomaterial an ideal choice in applications related to optics and photonics, particularly so in the manufacture of lenses, light-guiding optical fibers, and light-emitting devices. It is a rigid material with high mechanical strength and toughness. These characteristics are easily bequeathed to PMMA nanoparticles; therefore, they are highly essential for toughening materials in very numerous industrial applications, from coatings to adhesives and composite materials.
Functionalization Ease What is most exciting about PMMA nanoparticles is their ability to be easily modified by different functionalities in order to attain the desired surface properties. The ability to functionalize makes them quite suitable for target-oriented drug delivery, tissue engineering, and bio sensing applications. These unique features of polystyrene- and PMMA-based nanoparticles have rendered them an absolute requirement for a host of scientific and industrial applications.