Functional hybrid materials with polymer nanoparticles as templates.

The use of polymeric nanoparticles as templates for producing inorganic materials is an intriguing approach as it offers the feasibility of synthesizing hybrid organic-inorganic functional materials for a broad spectrum of applications ranging from optoelectronics to biomedicine. The concept of using polymer nanoparticles as templates to produce hybrid materials has several advantages. On the one hand, the entire geometry of the nanoparticle can be used as a confined nano-environment to let the inorganic material grow inside the particle. On the other hand, the high surface area of nanoparticle can be exploited to let the inorganic material grow on the outside surface of the particles. One such application is presented here, in which polymer nanoparticles were used as biomimetic template to produce composite nanoparticles made of the bone mineral hydroxyapatite (HAP). The synthesized hybrid particle has a great potential to be used as regenerative filler or as scaffold for nucleation and growth of new bone material. In addition to be applied as coatings on implants, these nanoparticles also offer the feasibility of being injected directly into the damaged part or administered intravenously with functionalization. Within this overview, we will mainly focus on different polymer nanoparticles obtained by the miniemulsion technique and the different possibilities for them to be used as templates for the biomimetic mineralization of calcium phosphate in the aqueous phase.