Patent ID: 8057899

Claim:
A nanoparticle composition comprising: a. a poly(alkenylbenzene) core, wherein the polyalkenylbenzene core is one or more monomer units selected from the group consisting of: styrene, Î±-methylstyrene, 1-vinyl naphthalene, 2-vinyl naphthalene, 1-Î±-methyl vinyl naphthalene, 2-Î±-methyl vinyl naphthalene, vinyl toluene, methoxystyrene, t-butoxystyrene; alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, alkaryl, and aralkyl derivatives of the foregoing in which the total number of carbon atoms in the combined hydrocarbon is not greater than 18, and any di- or tri-vinyl substituted aromatic hydrocarbons; and b. a surface layer comprising poly(conjugated diene) wherein the surface layer is one or more monomer units selected from the group consisting of C 4 to C 8 conjugated diene monomers; with the proviso that the core and shell are not made by emulsion polymerization.