Polymeric particles comprising acrylonitrile (AN)based core and acrylamide derivative-based shell in the submicron range with positive and negative charges were synthesized via microemulsion polymerization. 2-Acrylamido-2methylpropane sulfonic acid (AMPS) and 3-(acrylamidopropyl)trimethyl ammonium chloride (APTMACl) were used as shell-forming charged monomers onto AN core for the synthesis of p(AN-co-AMPS) and p(AN-co-APTMACl), respectively, using an oil-in-water emulsion system. To tune the characteristics of the core-shell particles, AN moieties in the core were amidoximated to change the nature of the core from hydrophobic (nitrile) to hydrophilic (amidoxime) nature. Additionally, colloidal magnetite particles (Fe3O4) produced by chemical coprecipitation technique under alkaline and inert conditions were also included inside p(AN-co-AMPS) and p(AN-co-APTMACl) particles as dual-responsive nanocomposites against pH and magnetic field. With the magnetic properties, AN-based core with modifiable characteristics and acrylamide-based polyelectrolyte shells with variable charges and sizes were further used as drug carriers. For potential targeted drug delivery application of the synthesized soft particles and their composites Naproxen and Trimethoprim were used as model drugs, and he release studies were carried in phosphate buffer saline (pH 7.4) at ambient temperature. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 5239-5246, 2010