Tenside-free Preparation of Nanogels with High Functional β‑Cyclodextrin Content

We present the preparation of ultrafine (R_h, 50 −150 nm) nanogels through tenside-free condensation of reactive prepolymers with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) in water. These nanogels possess a maximum content of 60 wt % functional β-CD that can form inclusion complexes as demonstrated by dye sorption with phenolphthalein. Aside of this extremely high uptake capacity to hydrophobic molecules, the nanogels also show good adhesion to surfaces in homogeneous distribution with size of R_h of 25 nm under dry conditions.