Red light induced folding of single polymer chains

Abstract

We pioneer the photochemical generation of single chain nanoparticles (SCNPs) at the to-date mildest reported wavelength of 625 nm by exploiting the photochemical uncaging of methylene blue protected amines. The protected amines are tethered to polymers prepared via reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerisation, and subsequently undergo intrachain crosslinking by amide formation.