INTERACTIONS BETWEEN POLY(ETHYLENE OXIDE) COATED SURFACES AND BETWEEN SUCH SURFACES AND PROTEINS

Surfaces coated with poly(ethylene oxide) containing nonionic polymers are of interest in medical applications due to, among other things, the low adsorption of proteins on such surfaces. In this paper we have studied the interfacial properties of surfaces coated with PEO by measuring the forces acting between two such surfaces in water and across a protein solution as well as between one such surface and a surface carrying adsorbed proteins. One type of surface coating was a graft copolymer of poly(ethylene imine) and poly(ethylene oxide) where the cationic poly(ethylene imine) group anchored the polymer to negatively charged mica surfaces. Three different ways to prepare this coating was used and compared. It was found that this coating was not stable in the presence of lysozyme, a small positively charged protein, when the PEO graft density was low. The other type of coating was obtained by adsorbing ethyl(hydroxyethyl)-cellulose onto hydrophobised mica surfaces. The driving force for adsorption is in this case the hydrophobic interaction between nonpolar segments of the polymer and the surface. The EHEC coating was stable in the presence of lysozyme and the interactions between adsorbed layers of lysozyme and EHEC coated surfaces are purely repulsive due to long-range steric forces.     

Synthesis of poly(styrene-graft-ethylene oxide) by ethoxylation of amide group containing styrene copolymers

Graft copolymers containing poly(ethylene oxide) side chains on a polystyrene backbone have been synthesized. Styrene copolymers synthesized by free radical mechanism and containing between 5 and 15 mol % acrylamide or methacrylamide were used as backbones. The amide groups in the copolymers were ionized by using potassium tert-butoxide or potassium naphthalene, and grafting was achieved by utilizing the amide anions as initiator sites for the polymerization of ethylene oxide in 2-ethoxyethyl ether at 65°C. The graft copolymers were characterized with respect to molecular weight and composition using elemental analysis, NMR, gel permeation chromatography, IR, and viscosity measurements. The size of the side chains were between 600 and 2000 g/mol. GPC results from a hydrolyzed graft copolymer sample suggest a narrow size distribution for the poly(ethylene oxide) grafts. Solution properties of the graft copolymers were investigated in different toluene/methanol mixtures. The intrinsic viscosities of the graft copolymers were found to depend primarily on the poly(ethylene oxide) content rather than the graft density or the poly(ethylene oxide) chain length. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Hydrophilic poly(ethylene oxide)–aramide segmented block copolymers

The present paper discusses block copolymers with segments of either poly(ethylene oxide), poly(propylene oxide), or mixtures of poly(ethylene oxide)/poly(propylene oxide) and monodisperse aramide segments. The length of the polyether segments as well as the concentration of polyethylene oxide was varied. The synthesized copolymers were analyzed by DSC, FTIR, AFM and DMTA. In addition, the hydrophilicity was studied.The crystallinity of the monodisperse aramide segments was found to be high and the crystals, dispersed in the polyether phase, displayed a nano-ribbon morphology. The PEO segments were able to crystallize and this crystalline phase reduced the low-temperature flexibility. The PEO crystallinity and melting temperature could be strongly reduced by copolymerization with PPO segments. By using mixtures of PEO and PPO segments, hydrophilic copolymers with decent low-temperature properties could be obtained.     

Effect of metal-free porphyrins on the thermal–oxidative breakdown of biocompatible polymers

The inhibitory effect of metal-free porphyrins on the thermal–oxidative breakdown of several biocompatible polymers is observed for the first time. Differential thermal analysis shows that the thermal stability of poly(ethylene oxide) and triblock copolymers of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide increases by 80–100 K, compared to the initial breakdown temperatures of these polymers in the presence of metal-free porphyrins (up to 3 wt %).     

Poly(vinyl chloride)–poly(ethylene oxide) block copolymers: Synthesis and characterization

Poly(vinyl chloride)-poly(ethylene oxide) block copolymers have been synthesized in solution and emulsion. The polymers were made by first synthesizing macroazonitriles through the reaction of 4,4′-azobis-4-cyanovleryl chloride with hydroxy-terminated poly(ethylene oxide) of varying molecular weights. These macroazonitriles had molecular weights in the range of 3000–88,000 and degrees of polymerization from 5 to 24. Thermal decomposition of the azolinkages in the presence of vinyl chloride monomer yielded block copolymers containing form 2 to 20 wt % poly(ethylene oxide). The structures of the block copolymers were characterized by spectrometric, elemental and molecular weight analyses. The possibility of some graft polymerization occurring via free-radical extraction of a methylene hydrogen from the poly(ethylene oxide) was considered. Polymerization of vinyl chloride with an azonitrile initiator in the presence of a poly(ethylene oxide) yielded predominately homopolymer with some grafted poly(vinyl chloride).     

Antagonistic mixing behavior of cationic gemini surfactants and triblock polymers in mixed micelles

Conductance (kappa), pyrene fluorescence (I1/I3), cloud point (C(P)), and Krafft temperature (K(T)) measurements have been carried out for various dimethylene bis(alkyldimethylammonium bromide) (gemini) surfactants with different poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) triblock polymers (TBP). From the kappa and I1/I3 studies, the critical micelle concentrations of mixed micelle formation between the gemini and TBP have been determined using regular solution theory. It has been observed that mixed micelle formation in all the binary mixtures of gemini+TBP occurs due to the unfavorable mixing, the magnitude of which decreases with increased hydrophobicity of the gemini component. The results are further supported by evaluating the mean micelle aggregation number and enthalpy of fusion from fluorescence and Krafft temperature measurements, respectively.     

Structural Transitions in Triblock Copolymers Based on Poly(ethylene oxide) and Polyacrylamide under the Temperature Influence

Thermal transitions in the bulk structure of triblock copolymers (PAA-b-PEO-b-PAA) based on polyacrylamide and poly(ethylene oxide) with varying molecular weight (length) of PEO block comparing with the structures of individual polymers and polymer mixtures were investigated. A lot of effects, such as the melting temperature depression, decreasing of the crystallinity degree of PEO and also appearance of the microphase separation in amorphous regions of the polymer mixtures and the triblock copolymers were found. Such investigations pointed to a strong intramolecular interaction of the polymer blocks in the triblock copolymers that is confirmed by the results of IR spectroscopy. It was shown that PEO and PAA blocks formed the system of H-bonds with participant of trans-multimers of amide groups.     

Thermally induced changes in amphiphilicity drive reversible restructuring of assemblies of ABC triblock copolymers with statistical polyether blocks

ABC triblock copolymers in which a block with stimulus-dependent solvophilicity resides between solvophilic and solvophobic end blocks can undergo reversible transitions between different thermodynamically stable assemblies in the presence or absence of stimulus. As a new example of such a copolymer system, thermoresponsive poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(ethylene oxide-stat-butylene oxide)-b-poly(isoprene) (E-BE-I) triblock copolymers with narrow molecular weight distributions (M(w)/M(n): 1.05-1.18) were prepared by sequential living anionic and nitroxide-mediated radical polymerizations. The specific copolymers examined (9.0 ≤ M(n) ≤ 14.4 kg/mol, 14% ≤ wt % isoprene ≤35%) form near-spherical aggregates with narrow size distributions at 25 °C. The thermoresponsive behavior of these polymers was studied by applying cloud point, DLS, and TEM measurements to a representative polymer, E(2.3)BE(5.3)I(2.3). The transformation of polymer aggregates from spherical micelles to vesicles (polymersomes) at elevated temperatures was detected by DLS and TEM studies, both with and without cross-linking of polymer assemblies. The rate of transformation with E-BE-I systems is more rapid than that observed for poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-b-poly(isoprene) assemblies, suggesting that interchain hydrogen bonding of responsive blocks after dehydration plays an important role in the kinetics of aggregate rearrangement.     

Synthesis and characterization of ABA‐type amphiphilic tri‐block copolymers through anionic polymerization using end functionalized poly(ethylene oxide) oligomers

ABA‐type amphiphilic tri‐block copolymers were successfully synthesized from poly(ethylene oxide) derivatives through anionic polymerization. When poly(styrene) anions were reacted with telechelic bromine‐terminated poly(ethylene oxide) ( 1 ) in 2:1 mole ratio, poly(styrene)‐b‐poly(ethylene oxide)‐b‐poly(styrene) tri‐block copolymers were formed. Similarly, stable telechelic carbanion‐terminated poly(ethylene oxide), prepared from 1,1‐diphenylethylene‐terminated poly (ethylene oxide) ( 2 ) and sec‐BuLi, was also used to polymerize styrene and methyl methacrylate separately, as a result, poly (styrene)‐b‐poly(ethylene oxide)‐b‐poly(styrene) and poly (methyl methacrylate)‐b‐poly(ethylene oxide)‐b‐poly(methyl methacrylate) tri‐block copolymers were formed respectively. All these tri‐block copolymers and poly(ethylene oxide) derivatives, 1 and 2 , were characterized by spectroscopic, calorimetric, and chromatographic techniques. Theoretical molecular weights of the tri‐block copolymers were found to be similar to the experimental molecular weights, and narrow polydispersity index was observed for all the tri‐block copolymers. Differential scanning calorimetric studies confirmed the presence of glass transition temperatures of poly(ethylene oxide), poly(styrene), and poly(methyl methacrylate) blocks in the tri‐block copolymers. Poly(styrene)‐b‐poly(ethylene oxide)‐b‐poly(styrene) tri‐block copolymers, prepared from polystyryl anion and 1 , were successfully used to prepare micelles, and according to the transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering results, the micelles were spherical in shape with mean average diameter of 106 ± 5 nm. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Structure of triblock-copolymers based on poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(acrylamide) with central blocks of varying lengths

Temperature transitions have been studied in the structure of triblock copolymers based on poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(acrylamide) (PAA-b-PEO-b-PAA) with central blocks of varying length and compared with individual polymers and polymer mixtures with analogous composition. It has been established that interaction of the polymer components on account of the formation of systems of intramolecular hydrogen bonds is strengthened by the presence of covalent bonds between the components. __________ Translated from Teoreticheskaya i éksperimental’naya Khimiya, Vol. 41, No. 6, pp. 364–370, November–December, 2005.     

Aggregation in aqueous media of tri-block copolymers tuned by the molecular selectivity of cyclodextrins

The water + cyclodextrin + poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) mixtures have been investigated to explore the temperature effect on the aggregation of the copolymer in the presence of cyclodextrins (CDs). The CDs with different cavity sizes were chosen because they may include either the hydrophilic poly(ethylene oxides) block or both kinds of blocks. The differential scanning calorimetry and viscosity experiments straightforwardly evidenced that the critical micellar temperature is shifted to larger values by adding a CD which is able to include the middle poly(propylene oxide) block while it is not influenced by the presence of CD which is selective to the poly(ethylene oxide) block. The enthalpy of aggregation decreases upon the CD addition for all the investigated systems.     

多孔二氧化硅对聚环氧乙烷结晶行为的影响

高分子化合物由于具有很长的分子链,不易进行规整排列,结晶速度通常很慢,为提高结晶速度,有时需要加入成核剂．多孔二氧化硅（ＳｉＯ２）具有较大的比表面积,故吸附作用较强,有可能作为成核剂影响部分结晶高聚物的结晶过程．聚环氧乙烷（ＰＥＯ）为部分结晶高聚物,其结晶行为对杂质较为敏感．本文目的在于通过结晶动力学及结晶与熔融行为的研究,探索多孔二氧化硅对ＰＥＯ结晶行为的影响．１　实验部分　　聚环氧乙烷（ＰＥＯ,Ｍｗ＝１×１０５）．两种多孔二氧化硅（ＳｉＯ２）按文献［１］方法制备,平均粒度为０．３μｍ,平均孔…     

Cloud Point Phenomena of Mixed Block Copolymers

Cloud points data on solutions of a poly(ethylene oxide)–poly(propylene oxide)–poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO–PPO–PEO) abbreviated as EPE or Pluronics, such as P–65, P–84, P–85, P-105, L-64, and their mixtures at different salt (NaCl) concentrations in water are reported. The addition of NaCl to these mixed copolymers decreases cloud point, increases surface activity, and shifts micellization to lower concentration. In presence of NaCl, more surfactant is needed for demicellization of P105 micelles.     

Influence of Grafted Chain Length of a Phenolic Copolymer on Its Complex Formation with Poly(vinyl Pyrrolidone) and Poly(ethylene Oxide)

A phenolic copolymer has been grafted with oligomers of different chain lengths. Polymer-polymer complexation has been studied between graft copolymers and nonionic polymers, such as polyvinyl pyrrolidone) and poly(ethylene oxide), in an acetone-methanol mixture by several methods, e.g., viscosity, conductance, and apparent pH measurements. A distinct stepwise complexation between PVP and graft copolymers has been observed. The length of the side chain also seemed to influence interpolymer complex formation. Some of these observations have been interpreted with reference to the actual structure of the graft copolymers.     

Design, synthesis, and aqueous aggregation behavior of nonionic single and multiple thermoresponsive polymers

Nonionic water-soluble poly(acrylamide)s and poly(acrylate)s were synthesized by RAFT and ATRP methods. Similar to the synthesized poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) and poly(N-acryloylpyrrolidine), aqueous solutions of statistical acrylate copolymers bearing two different oligo(ethylene oxide) side chains showed a sharp clouding transition upon heating beyond characteristic temperatures. The temperature of the cloud point can be easily fine tuned by the copolymer composition. As for poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) and poly(N-acryloylpyrrolidine), the cloud-point temperatures of these statistical copolymers are rather insensitive to changes in the molar mass or the NaCl content of the solutions. Also, ternary triblock copolymers containing one permanently hydrophilic block and two different thermoresponsive blocks were synthesized, varying the block sequence systematically. Their aggregation in aqueous solution was followed by turbidimetry and dynamic light scattering. Depending on the heating process and the triblock sequence, micellar aggregates of 40 to 600 nm size were found. The thermally induced aggregation behavior depends sensitively on the block sequence but is also subject to major kinetic effects. For certain block sequences, a thermally induced two-step association is observed when heating beyond the first and second cloud points of the thermoresponsive blocks. However, the thermal-transition temperatures of the block polymers can differ from the thermal-transition temperatures of the individual homopolymers. This may be caused by end-group effects but also by mutual interactions of the different blocks in solution, as physical mixtures of the homopolymers exhibit deviations from a purely additive thermal behavior.     

Graft copolymers prepared by ethoxylation of polyamide 12 and poly(ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol)

Graft copolymers consisting of polyamide 12 or poly(ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol) as backbone polymers and side chains of poly(ethylene oxide) have been synthesized. The amide and hydroxyl groups of the backbone polymers were used as initiation sites for the polymerization of ethylene oxide (EO). Potassium tert-butoxide was used for ionization of the active groups, and the polymerization of EO was carried out in dimethyl sulfoxide. The graft copolymers were characterized with respect to molecular weight and composition using elemental analysis, ¹H-NMR, gel permeation chromatography, and FTIR. The size of the side chains varied between 300 and 1000 g/mol. Thermal properties were examined by DSC. The graft copolymers showed increasing crystallinity and increasing melt temperature with increasing molecular weight of the side chains. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 803–811, 1998     

Nanoscale inhomogeneities in thermoresponsive triblock copolymers

We present continuous-wave (CW) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy data of the spin probe 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO) in aqueous solutions of poly(ethylene oxide)/poly(propylene oxide)/poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-PPO-PEO) triblock copolymers (Pluronic or Poloxamer). TEMPO is notably smaller than the spin probes conventionally used in the context of polymer science and reveals the early emergence of small hydrophobic cavities when PPO strands of several molecules aggregate and collapse upon temperature increase. The occurrence of hydrophobic cavities appears independent of the overall molecular weight of the Pluronics, but clearly depends on the relative PPO/PEO contents. In all the cases studied, the volume fraction of hydrophobic cavities increases in a broad temperature range of ≥40 °C. The appearance of the hydrophobic regions does not seem to be directly correlated to micellization of the polymers. A decrease of the relative PPO amount in the polymers not only hinders collapse of the PPO strands, it can also be described as a site exchange of the spin probes between hydrophobic cavities and the surrounding medium. On the other hand, in cases of high PPO contents, spin probe exchange could not be observed. This suggests that one may potentially control the diffusion of small molecules between the micellar cores and the surrounding medium by adjusting the PEO/PPO ratio of the used Pluronics.     

Spontaneous formation of gold nanoparticles in poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide) solutions: solvent quality and polymer structure effects

We report here on the effects that the solution properties of poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) block copolymers have on the reduction of hydrogen tetrachloroaurate(III) hydrate (HAuCl4.3H2O) and the size of gold nanoparticles produced. The amphiphilic block copolymer solution properties were modulated by varying the temperature and solvent quality (water, formamide, and their mixtures). We identified two main factors, (i) block copolymer conformation or structure (e.g., loops vs entanglements, nonassociated polymers vs micelles) and (ii) interactions between AuCl4- ions and block copolymers (attractive ion-dipole interactions vs repulsive interactions due to hydrophobicity), to be important for controlling the competition between the reactivities of AuCl4- reduction in the bulk solution to form gold seeds and on the surface of gold seeds (particles) and the particle size determination. The particle size increase observed with increased temperature in aqueous solutions is attributed to enhanced hydrophobicity of the block copolymer, which favors AuCl4- reduction on the surface of seeds. The lower reactivity and higher particle sizes observed in formamide solutions are attributed to the shielding of ion-dipole interaction between AuCl4- ions and block copolymers by formamide, which overcomes the beneficial effects of formamide on the block copolymer conformation (lower micelle concentration).     

Cytotoxicity of nonionic amphiphilic copolymers

The purpose of this study is to ascertain the relationship between the structure of an amphiphilic nonionic polymer and its toxicity for cells (cytotoxicity) growing in a culture. To this end, 16 polymers of different architectures and chemical structures are tested, namely, linear triblock copolymers of poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(propylene oxide)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (Pluronics); diblock copolymers of propylene oxide, ethylene oxide, and hyperbranched polyglycerol; alternating and diblock copolymers of ethylene oxide and dimethylsiloxane; and two surfactants containing linear (Brij-35) or branched (Triton X-100) aliphatic chains. Polymer-cell interaction is assayed in a culture medium in the absence of serum. Effective concentrations of the polymers causing 50% cell death, EC₅₀, vary within three orders of magnitude. Toxic concentrations of the alternating copolymer, Triton X-100, and Brij-35 are lower than their CMC values. In contrast, all block copolymers, regardless of their chemical structures, become toxic at concentrations above the CMC; that is, they acquire cytotoxicity only in the micellar form. The EC₅₀ values of the copolymers depend on their hydrophilic-liphophilic balance (HLB) through the following empirical formula: EC₅₀ × 10⁶ = 8.71 × HLB^2.1. This relationship makes it possible to predict the cytotoxic concentration region of a block copolymer of a known structure.     

Aggregation and self-assembly of amphiphilic block copolymers in aqueous dispersions of carbon nanotubes

The self-assembly (SA) of amphiphilic block copolymers (poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide)) was investigated in dispersions of single-walled and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (SWNT and MWNT, respectively) as a function of temperature. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used for characterization of the thermal behavior of the combined polymers-nanostructures system, and spin-probe electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) was employed for probing the local dynamic and polarity of the polymer chains in the presence of nanostructures. It was found that SWNT and MWNT modify the temperature, enthalpy, and dynamic behavior of polymer SA. In particular, SWNT were found to increase the cooperativity of aggregating chains and dominate aggregate dynamics. MWNT reduced the cooperativity, while colloidal carbon black additives, studied for comparison, did not show similar effects. The experimental observations are consistent with the suggestion that dimensional matching between the characteristic radius of the solvated polymer chains and the dimensions of additives dominate polymer SA in the hybrid system.