orthosilicate (TEOS, ≥99.0%)
and 2-propanol (99.5%) were purchased from Aldrich (Milwaukee, WI).
(3-Aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES, 99%), hydrocholoric acid (37%),
and poly(dimethylsiloxane) monoglycidyl ether terminated (PDMS-G, Mw = 1000 g mol–1) were purchased
from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, MO). Calcium chloride (CaCl2) was purchased from Aldrich Chemical Co. Ltd. (Gillingham, England).
PMMA was a gift from Arkema (VM100, i.e., a PMMA-co-EA polymer) (La Garenne-Colombes, France). Absolute tetrahydrofuran
(THF) were purchased from Biosolve (Valkenswaard, The Netherlands).
Ethanol absolute for analysis was purchased from Merck (Darmstadt,
Germany). Milli-Q water was produced by a Millipore Synergy system
(Billerica, MA). Nanoparticles with diameters of ∼12 nm (B220),
∼20 nm (B130), and ∼60 nm (Levasil 50/50) were purchased
from AkzoNobel (Bohus, Sweden). These particles were dispersed in
aqueous solution and have surface exposed hydroxyl groups on the surface
as received. Unless otherwise mentioned, all other chemicals were
used as received.