Emulsion polymerization of styrene using phospholipids with polymerizable chain as an emulsifier

Emulsion polymerizations of styrene with various phospholipids as emulsifiers were carried out to obtain latices bearing the lipids. Using 1‐palmitoyl‐2‐(4‐vinylbenzoyl)‐sn‐glycero‐3‐phospho‐choline (2a) and 1‐[5‐(4‐vinylphenyl)pentanoyl]‐sn‐glycero‐3‐phosphocholine (3) as emulsifiers, latices of narrow size distributions were produced in high yields with a water‐soluble initiator, K2S2O8. The lipids were found to be quantitatively immobilized onto the latex surface. With a hydrophobic initiator, 1‐palmitoyl‐2‐[5‐(4‐vinylphenyl)pentanoyl]‐sn‐glycero‐3‐phosphocholine (2c) were bound densely on the latex surface, although the yields were not high. Phospholipase C was found to hydrolyze 2b and 2c attached to the surface.