Molecule-responsive block copolymer micelles

Ring-opening metathesis polymerization was used to generate an ABC triblock copolymer, containing complementary diamidopyridine (DAP) and thymine (THY) outer blocks, which assembles into spherical aggregates held together by DAP-THY noncovalent interactions. Addition of THY-containing small guest molecules results in complete opening and deaggregation of the block copolymer micelle. This molecular recognition and macroscopic response shows high selectivity to the guest structure, and tolerates only a small amount of conformational mobility in the THY guest. On the other hand, addition of a small DAP-containing guest does not break the aggregates, but instead, results in new micelles which show a different selectivity profile from the parent morphology. We have examined the effect of a number of structural features in the block copolymers, on both the extent and selectivity of their macroscopic response to guests (that is, opening of the micelle). This study has resulted in a set of structural guidelines, which help in the design of effective molecule-responsive micelles for applications in selective drug delivery, sensing, and surface patterning.     

Bactericidal block copolymer micelles

Block copolymer micelles with bactericidal properties were designed to deactivate pathogens such as E. coli bacteria. The micelles of PS‐b‐PAA and PS‐b‐P4VP block copolymers were loaded with biocides TCMTB or TCN up to 20 or 30 wt.‐%, depending on the type of antibacterial agent. Bacteria were exposed to loaded micelles and bacterial deactivation was evaluated. The micelles loaded with TCN are bactericidal; bacteria are killed in less than two minutes of exposure. The most likely interpretation of the data is that the biocide is transferred to the bacteria by repeated micelle/bacteria contacts, and not via the solution.

     

NMR studies of block copolymer micelles

Block copolymers dissolved in selective solvent often self-assemble. We review the use of NMR to study this process and to characterize the aggregates formed. We stress the need to consider the polydispersity of the polymers and the fact that the increase in NMR relaxation rates observed upon aggregation can be assigned to contributions from the block copolymer micelle tumbling.     

Controlled stacking of charged block copolymer micelles

Using poly(acrylic acid)-b-poly(methyl acrylate)-b-polystyrene (PAA-b-PMA-b-PS) triblock copolymers or a mixture of different molecular weight PAA-b-PS diblock copolymers, stacks of polymeric micellar assemblies, such as disks and Y-shaped cylinders, were formed through intermicellar interactions. Whereas micelles hierarchically stacked together, micellar interactions within the stack defined a uniform micelle geometry and size for up to micrometers in length. The kinetic pathway dependence and stability of the stacked assemblies were studied, and possible intermicellar interactions between micelles within the stacks are proposed.     

Mineralization of gold in block copolymer micelles

Ultrasmall gold particles have been prepared inside the micelles of polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene oxide) and polystyrene-block-poly(2-vinylpyridine) in toluene. Starting point was the formation of a thermodynamically stable dispersion of HAuCl₄ or LiAuCl₄ in the inverse micelles of the block copolymer which were treated with hydrazine or pyrrole. Analysis of the effect of the reduction agent on the stability of the micelles yielded a simple model for the transformation process involving coagulation of the swelling micelles. Kinetic control of the different steps, i.e., reduction, mineralization, coagulation, film formation, allowed to prepare thin films in which highly uniform gold particles were arranged in yet unknown order. When pyrrole was employed for the reduction, the gold monocrystals got embedded in a shell of polypyrrole.     

Catalytic activity of supported Au nanoparticles deposited from block copolymer micelles

Quasi-ordered, highly dispersed, gold nanoclusters of tightly controlled particle size were synthesized by dip-coating substrates with gold precursors encapsulated by block-copolymer micelles. By this method, gold particles (4.8 +/- 1.3 nm) were deposited on ITO-coated glass and shown to be catalytically active for electro-oxidation of carbon monoxide. XPS confirmed the catalytically active particles were predominantly Au0; however, a large fraction existed as Au3+. Whereas bulk gold is inert, these results demonstrate that catalytically active Au nanoparticles can be derived from micelle encapsulation.     

Interaction of amphiphilic block copolymer micelles with surfactants

An out line and summary of literature studies on interactions between different types of amphiphilic copolymer micelles with surfactants has been given. This field of research is still emerging and it is difficult presently to make generalisations on the effects of surfactants on the copolymer association. The effects are found to be varied depending upon the nature and type of hydrophobic (hp) core and molecular architecture of the copolymers and the hydrocarbon chain length and head group of surfactants. The information available on limited studies shows that both anionic and cationic surfactants (in micellar or molecular form) equally interact strongly with the associated and unassociated forms of copolymers. The beginning of the interaction is typically displayed as critical aggregation concentration (CAC), which lies always below the critical micelle concentration of the respective surfactant. The surfactants first bind to the hydrophobic core of the copolymer micelles followed by their interaction with the hydrophilic (hl) corona parts. The extent of binding highly depends upon the nature, hydropobicity of the copolymer molecules, length of the hydrocarbon tail and nature of the head group of the surfactant. The micellization of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)–poly(propylene oxide) (PPO)–poly(ethylene oxide) was found to be suppressed by the added surfactants and at higher surfactant concentrations, the block copolymer micelles get completely demicellized. This effect was manifested itself in the melting of liquid crystalline phases in the high copolymer concentrations. However, no such destabilization was found for the micelles of polystyrene (PS)–poly(ethylene oxide) copolymers in water. On the contrary, the presence of micellar bound surfactant associates resulted in to large super micellar aggregates through induced intra micellar interactions. But with the change in the hydrophobic part from polystyrene to poly(butadiene) (PB) in the copolymer, the added surfactants not only reduced the micellar size but also transformed cylindrical micelles to spherical ones. The mixtures in general exhibited synergistic effects. So varied association responses were noted in the mixed solutions of surfactants and copolymers.     

Solvent-induced morphological transition in core-cross-linked block copolymer micelles

Microwave-assisted polymerization has been utilized to synthesize amphiphilic poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline-block-2-"soy alkyl"-2-oxazoline) diblock copolymers (PEtOx-PSoyOx). The amphiphilic block copolymers have been used to prepare aqueous spherical micelles consisting of a PEtOx corona and a PSoyOx core, which have been further cross-linked by UV irradiation. The morphology of these cross-linked micelles has been shown to reversibly change from spheres to short rods referred to as rice grains whenever the micelles were transferred from water into acetone, a nonselective solvent for the constituent blocks. This morphological transition has been attributed to the swelling of the slightly cross-linked PSoyOx core.     

Scattering from polymer-like micelles

Polymer-like micelles are analogs to polymer solutions and provide an exciting class of materials for both applications and fundamental understanding of polyelectrolyte systems. Small angle neutron and X-ray scattering have been key to the characterization of these materials from the first observations of linear micelle growth. As new materials are developed, these techniques continue to be utilized and combined with other analytical tools to characterize the length and time scales of polymer-like micelle behavior. Recent reports on the use of small-angle scattering to characterize polymer-like and wormlike micelles are reviewed, with focus on new materials, improvements in analytical approaches and anisotropic structures.     

Dilution-induced spheres-to-vesicles morphological transition in micelles from block copolymer/surfactant complexes

Metastable spherical micelles have been obtained by mixing in chloroform poly(styrene)-block-poly(4-vinylpyridine) diblock copolymers with perfluorinated surfactants bearing a carboxylic acid head. Dilution of these initial micelles triggers a morphological reorganization resulting in the formation of more stable vesicles. This transition can be advantageously used to encapsulate molecules of interest.     

Morphology transformation of hybrid micelles self-assembled from rod-coil block copolymer and nanoparticles

Hybrid polymeric micelles self-assembled from a mixture containing poly(γ-benzyl-L-glutamate)-block-poly(ethylene glycol) (PBLG-b-PEG) block copolymer and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were prepared. The effect of AuNPs on the self-assembly behavior of PBLG-b-PEG was studied both experimentally by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and laser light scattering and computationally using dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations. It was found that, the pure PBLG-b-PEG block copolymer self-assembles into long cylindrical micelles. By introducing AuNPs to the stock block copolymer solution, the formed aggregate morphology transforms to spherical micelles. The DPD simulation results well reproduced the morphological transformations observed in the experiments. And the simulation revealed that the main reason for the aggregate morphology transformation is the breakage of ordered packing of PBLG rods in micelle core by the added nanoparticles. Moreover, from the DPD simulations, the distribution information on nanoparticles was obtained. The nanoparticles were found to prefer to locate near the core/shell interface as well as in the core center of the micelles. The combination of experimental and simulation methods lead to a comprehensive understanding of such a complex self-assembly system.     

Large-scale structure in gels of attractive block copolymer micelles

We have used ultra-small-angle scattering (USANS) and fluorescence microscopy to demonstrate the existence of a nonfractal large-scale structure in attractive micellar gels of poly(styrene)-poly(acrylic acid) block copolymers, which have some characteristics of attractive colloidal glasses. The nature of the large-scale structure appears to depend systematically on the strength of attraction. Our systems display scattering that follows I approximately q(x) in the low q regime, with x varying from approximately -3 to -4 as the strength of attraction is decreased. This scattering behavior appears to be the result of surface scattering from large, highly polydisperse aggregates with rough interfaces.     

Cross-linking of cationic block copolymer micelles by silica deposition

Diblock copolymer micelles comprising cationic poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDMA) coronas and hydrophobic poly(2-(diisopropylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDPA) cores are used as nanosized templates for the deposition of silica from aqueous solution at pH 7.2 and 20 degrees C. Both noncross-linked and shell cross-linked (SCL) micelles can be coated with silica without loss of colloid stability. Under optimized conditions, the silica deposition is confined to the partially quaternized cationic PDMA chains, leading to hybrid copolymer-silica particles of around 35 nm diameter with well-defined core-shell morphologies. 1H NMR studies confirmed that the PDPA cores of these copolymer-silica particles became protonated at low pH and deprotonated at high pH, which suggests possible encapsulation and controlled release applications. Moreover, in situ silica deposition effectively stabilizes the PDPA-PDMA micelles, which remain intact on lowering the solution pH (whereas the original noncross-linked PDPA-PDMA micelles dissociate in acidic solution). This suggests a convenient route to silica-stabilized SCL micelles under mild conditions.     

Superlattice formation in binary mixtures of block copolymer micelles

Two distinct diblock copolymers, poly(styrene-b-isoprene) (SI) and poly(styrene-b-dimethylsiloxane) (SD), were codissolved at various concentrations in the polystyrene selective solvent diethyl phthalate. Two SI diblocks, with block molar masses of 12,000-33,000 and 30,000-33,000, and two SD diblocks, with block molar masses of 19,000-6000 and 16,000-9000, were employed. The size ratio of the smaller SD micelles (S) to the larger SI micelles (L) varied from approximately 0.5 to 0.6, based on hydrodynamic radii determined by dynamic light scattering on dilute solutions containing only one polymer component. Due to incompatibility between the polyisoprene and polydimethylsiloxane blocks, a binary mixture of distinct SI and SD micelles was formed in each mixed solution, as confirmed by cryogenic transmission electron microscopy. When the total concentration of polymer was increased to 20-30%, the micelles adopted a superlattice structure. Small angle X-ray scattering revealed the lattice to be the full LS13 superlattice (space group Fm3c) in all cases, with unit cell dimensions in excess of 145 nm. A coexistent face-centered cubic phase composed of SD micelles was also observed when the number ratio of S to L micelles was large.     

星形PLA-PEG嵌段共聚物胶束的制备与表征

以胆酸为引发剂,用辛酸亚锡催化丙交酯开环聚合合成星型CA-PLA。利用DCC为脱水剂,将不同分子量的端羧基化PEG与星型CA-PLA偶联,合成一系列以胆酸为核的星形两亲性嵌段共聚物,用透析法制备共聚物胶束,并用TEM和DLS研究胶束的性质。合成了分子量为6000和12000的两种CA-PLA,其分子量可以通过胆酸羟基与丙交酯的比例进行控制。将分子量2000和5000的PEG分别与两种CA-PLA偶联,合成了四种星型CA-PLA-PEG嵌段共聚物。共聚物胶束形貌为均匀的球形,粒径为20-40nm,且随共聚物中PLA链段分子量的增加而增大,随PEG链段分子量的增加而减小。临界胶束浓度(CMC)低于同等链段长度的线型PLA-PEG嵌段共聚物胶束。     

Self-assembly of block copolymer micelles in an ionic liquid

Four amphiphilic poly((1,2-butadiene)-block-ethylene oxide) (PB-PEO) diblock copolymers were shown to aggregate strongly and form micelles in an ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([BMIM][PF(6)]). The universal micellar structures (spherical micelle, wormlike micelle, and bilayered vesicle) were all accessed by varying the length of the corona block while holding the core block constant. The nanostructures of the PB-PEO micelles formed in an ionic liquid were directly visualized by cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM). Detailed micelle structural information was extracted from both cryo-TEM and dynamic light scattering measurements, with excellent agreement between the two techniques. Compared to aqueous solutions of the same copolymers, [BMIM][PF(6)] solutions exhibit some distinct features, such as temperature-independent micellar morphologies between 25 and 100 degrees C. As in aqueous solutions, significant nonergodicity effects were also observed. This work demonstrates the flexibility of amphiphilic block copolymers for controlling nanostructure in an ionic liquid, with potential applications in many arenas.     

Preparation of light-stable micelles with azo dyes from a nonamphiphilic random block copolymer

Light-stable micelles with azo dyes were prepared by micelle formation of a nonamphiphilic diblock copolymer containing azobenzene and UV absorbent at ca. 1 mol% as the unit ratios. The nonamphiphilic block copolymer consists of two different kinds of random copolymer blocks: poly[4-(phenylazophenoxymethyl)styrene-co-vinylphenol] (P(AS-co-VPh)) and poly[4-(2-hydroxybenzophenoxymethyl)styrene-co-styrene] (P(HBS-co-St)). This random block copolymer, P(AS-co-VPh)-b-P(HBS-co-St) formed the micelles in the presence of 1,4-butanediamine (BDA) through hydrogen bond cross-linking between the VPh units via BDA. The micelles had the azobenzene moieties at the cores and the UV absorbents at the coronas. The micelles showed a small color difference in color fading experiments, in comparison with the unimers and with micelles having no UV absorbent at the coronas. It is significant that the diblock copolymer forms the micelles and has the UV absorbents at the coronas to suppress the color fading. Furthermore, the chain length of ,-diamines had no effect on the hydrodynamic radius of the micelles, but affected the aggregation number and the cmc.     

Near-infrared light-triggered dissociation of block copolymer micelles using upconverting nanoparticles

We demonstrate a novel strategy enabling the use of a continuous-wave diode near-infrared (NIR) laser to disrupt block copolymer (BCP) micelles and trigger the release of their "payloads". By encapsulating NaYF(4):TmYb upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) inside micelles of poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(4,5-dimethoxy-2-nitrobenzyl methacrylate) and exposing the micellar solution to 980 nm light, photons in the UV region are emitted by the UCNPs, which in turn are absorbed by o-nitrobenzyl groups on the micelle core-forming block, activating the photocleavage reaction and leading to the dissociation of BCP micelles and release of co-loaded hydrophobic species. Our strategy of using UCNPs as an internal UV or visible light source upon NIR light excitation represents a general and efficient method to circumvent the need for UV or visible light excitation that is a common drawback for light-responsive polymeric systems developed for potential biomedical applications.     

Cobalt nanoparticles in block copolymer micelles: Preparation and properties

 The preparation and properties of Co nanoparticles in polystyrene(PS)-poly-4-vinyl-py-ridine(PVP) micelles were studied. Elementary Co was generated by two methods: (i) by reduction of micelles loaded with CoCl₂, and (ii) by thermal decomposition of Co₂(CO)₈ in micel-lar solutions of such block copolymers. Co particles formed by both processes are effectively stabilized by the block copolymer matrix and do not aggregate. For CoCl₂ as a Co-source, the formed particles have a size less than 1 nm. Thermal treatment of such dried polymers at 200 ^°C for 2 h leads to spherical particles of 3–5 nm in size. The polymeric hybrid materials prepared in this way display remarkably high values of magnetization at rather low Co contents in the polymer, i.e., we obtain a tenfold increase of the specific magnetization density. Co₂(CO)₈ as a Co source, results in a more complex behavior. Co₂(CO)₈ dissolves in the solvent as well as in the micelle core where it is converted to an cationic–anionic complex involving the 4-VP units. The shape and size of the Co nanoparticles formed by thermolysis can be controlled by the balance of 4-VP/Co and can be varied from spherical particles in the limit of lower Co loads being mainly attached to the micelle core to a star-like and cubic morphology in case of excess of Co₂(CO)₈. Both superparamagnetic and ferromagnetic materials can be prepared. For ferromagnetic samples coercive force varies from 250 to 475 Oe depending on Co content and polymer sample. Received : 27 September 1996 Accepted: 22 November 1996