Isothermal Titration Calorimetry of Chiral Polymeric Nanoparticles

Chiral polymeric nanoparticles are of prime importance, mainly due to their enantioselective potential, for many applications such as catalysis and chiral separation in chromatography. In this article we report on the preparation of chiral polymeric nanoparticles by miniemulsion polymerization. In addition, we describe the use of isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) to measure the chiral interactions and the energetics of the adsorption of enantiomers from aqueous solutions onto chiral polymeric nanoparticles. The characterization of chirality in nano-systems is a very challenging task; here, we demonstrate that ITC can be used to accurately determine the thermodynamic parameters associated with the chiral interactions of nanoparticles. The use of ITC to measure the energetics of chiral interactions and recognition at the surfaces of chiral nanoparticles can be applied to other nanoscale chiral systems and can provide further insight into the chiral discrimination processes of nanomaterials. Chirality 27:613-618, 2015. (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.