Brushes of elastic single-chain nanoparticles on flat surfaces

Abstract Single-chain polymer nanoparticles (SCNPs) are individual intrachain cross-linked polymer chains -typically with a size  e.g. , virus capsids). In this work, the structural properties of brushes formed by topologically complex SCNPs on flat surfaces are investigated as a function of SCNP size and intrachain cross-linking degree. A detailed comparison is performed to the structural features displayed by brushes of other macromolecular architectures, thus revealing the tunable, unique properties of brushes comprising elastic SCNPs. Remarkably, this work paves the way to the potential design of brushes of SCNPs with drug delivery characteristics based on stimulus-mediated rupture of intrachain cross-links.