High-energy radiation processing, a smart approach to obtain PVP-graft-AA nanogels

• Aqueous solutions of PVP and AA were irradiated by industrial electron accelerator.
• NGs with different physico-chemical and molecular properties can be obtained.
• Carboxyl-functionalized NGs produced are promising building blocks for bio-devices.

Poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone)-grafted-acrylic acid biocompatible nanogels (NGs) were prepared using an exiting industrial-type electron accelerator and setups, starting from semi-dilute aqueous solutions of a commercial PVP and the acrylic acid monomer. As a result, NGs with tunable size and structure can be obtained quantitatively. Sterility was also imparted at the integrated dose absorbed. The chemical structure of the NGs produced was confirmed through Fourier Transformer Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR). The molecular and physico-chemical properties of NGs, such as the hydrodynamic dimensions and surface charge densities, for various polymer and monomer concentrations in the irradiated solutions, are discussed here.