I am attempting to make particles in the range of 50-500 nm from Low density polyethylene. My current protocol is to dissolve 0.1 g of LDPE in xylene at 100 C, then drip the resultant solution slowly into ice cold Ethanol.
Although this does generate a very fine precipitate, it begins to aggregate when left on the bench, and filtering through a 8 um filter leaves a clear filtrate.
I have tried adding 2% PEG 8000 or 2% Triton-100 to the ethanol and this seems to slow the aggregation, but filtering still gives a clear filtrate.
I feel like I am almost there but maybe trying a different concentration or type of surfactant might help. Any suggestions about surfactant or any other aspect would be greatly apreciated.
Dear Finn Stirling,
Maybe you should try Tween 80 or Tween 20 (Polysorbate 80/20). They worked out well for me.
BR,
Dr. Silbir
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