Cholesterol removal onto the different hydrophobic nanospheres: A comparison study

The aim of this study is to prepare two different hydrophobic polymeric nanospheres for cholesterol removal. Poly(HEMA–MAT) nanospheres with an average size of 100 nm and poly(HEMA–MAP) nanospheres with an average size of 158 nm were produced by surfactant free emulsion polymerization of HEMA and MAT and MAP monomers. These hydrophobic nanospheres were characterized by FTIR, SEM, elemental analysis, particle size and surface area measurements. Cholesterol removal experiments were performed in a batch experimental set-up and removal medium was methanol. Cholesterol adsorption capacity of poly(HEMA–MAP) nanospheres was approximately three times higher than that of poly(HEMA–MAT) nanospheres.