Controlled morphological transformation of polymer nanoparticles

The production of nanoparticles with well-defined shapes and dimensions is key to understanding their unique properties and tailoring them for specific applications. For example, we know that cylindrical nanoparticles interact with cells in a different way to spherical ones, and we would like to understand why in more detail so that we can design advanced medicines which use nanoparticles to deliver therapeutics to specific locations in the body, reducing side effects. We have been studying a method that allows the straightforward production of cylindrical nanoparticles with very well controlled lengths, which could allow these fundamental properties to be studied in much greater detail. Here, we will investigate how this 'morphological transformation' process works at the molecular level.