Study of Cationic N-Isopropylacrylamide−Styrene Copolymer Latex Particles Using Fluorescent Probes

Monodisperse cationically charged core−shell poly[styrene/N-isopropylacrylamide] latexes, differing in their shell structure, were studied at temperatures around the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of poly[N-isopropylacrylamide]. Near the LCST, a transition on the latex dimensions was observed by quasi-elastic light scattering measurements. The same transition could also be detected using the intensity ratio of the pyrene fluorescence vibronic bands, I<INF>1</INF>/I<INF>3</INF>, and the excimer to monomer fluorescence intensity ratio of 1,10-bis(1-pyrenyl)decane. The fluorescence spectra and decay curve measurements of 1,10-bis(1-pyrenyl)decane provided a better understanding of both the hydrophilic−hydrophobic variation and the conformational changes occurring in the poly[N-isopropylacrylamide] shell of the latex particles upon temperature variation.