Sensors 2010, 10(9), 7979-7990; doi:10.3390/s100907979
Article

A Fluorescent Thermometer Based on a Pyrene-Labeled Thermoresponsive Polymer

Christian Pietsch 1,2 email, Antje Vollrath 1 email, Richard Hoogenboom 3,4,* email and Ulrich S. Schubert 1,2,3 email
1 Laboratory of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Humboldtstrasse 10, 07743 Jena, Germany 2 Dutch Polymer Institute (DPI), John F. Kennedylaan 2, 5612 AB Eindhoven, Netherlands 3 Laboratory of Macromolecular Chemistry and Nanoscience, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, Netherlands 4 Supramolecular Chemistry group, Department of Organic Chemistry, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281 S4, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 21 June 2010; in revised form: 23 July 2010 / Accepted: 20 August 2010 / Published: 27 August 2010
(This article belongs to the Special Issue State-of-the-Art Sensors Technology in The Netherlands)
PDF Full-text Download PDF Full-Text [284 KB, uploaded 27 August 2010 09:11 CEST]
Abstract: Thermoresponsive polymers that undergo a solubility transition by variation of the temperature are important materials for the development of ‘smart’ materials. In this contribution we exploit the solubility phase transition of poly(methoxy diethylene glycol methacrylate), which is accompanied by a transition from hydrophilic to hydrophobic, for the development of a fluorescent thermometer. To translate the polymer phase transition into a fluorescent response, the polymer was functionalized with pyrene resulting in a change of the emission based on the microenvironment. This approach led to a soluble polymeric fluorescent thermometer with a temperature range from 11 °C to 21 °C. The polymer phase transition that occurs during sensing is studied in detail by dynamic light scattering.
Keywords: pyrene; DEGMA; stimuli-responsive polymer; lower critical solution temperature (LCST); RAFT polymerization; solvatochromism; fluorescent thermometer

Article Statistics

Click here to load and display the download statistics.

Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Pietsch, C.; Vollrath, A.; Hoogenboom, R.; Schubert, U.S. A Fluorescent Thermometer Based on a Pyrene-Labeled Thermoresponsive Polymer. Sensors 2010, 10, 7979-7990.

AMA Style

Pietsch C, Vollrath A, Hoogenboom R, Schubert US. A Fluorescent Thermometer Based on a Pyrene-Labeled Thermoresponsive Polymer. Sensors. 2010; 10(9):7979-7990.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Pietsch, Christian; Vollrath, Antje; Hoogenboom, Richard; Schubert, Ulrich S. 2010. "A Fluorescent Thermometer Based on a Pyrene-Labeled Thermoresponsive Polymer." Sensors 10, no. 9: 7979-7990.

Sensors EISSN 1424-8220 Published by MDPI AG, Basel, Switzerland RSS E-Mail Table of Contents Alert