A poly(tert‐butyl acrylate) (P(tBA)) with a glycodendric endfunctionality with eight glucose moieties was synthesised in four steps via a combination of esterification, thiol‐alkyne conjugation and hetero‐Diels–Alder (HDA) cycloaddition. A linear glycopolymer of similar size and composition was also synthesised in order to compare the protein binding characteristics of the polymer with glycodendritic endfunctionality to the linear glycol blockcopolymer. The two amphiphilic polymers were self‐assembled in water into micelles. These particles were then tested for their ability to bind to Concanavalin A (Con A). In a turbidity assay, the polymer glycodendron exhibited a significantly faster clustering rate to the lectin as compared to the linear glycopolymer. In a precipitation assay, it is found that significantly less glucose residue is required for binding per Con A for the polymer with the glycodendritic endfunctionality.
We present a morphological study of the micellization of an asymmetric semicrystalline block copolymer, poly(butadiene)‐block‐poly(ethylene oxide), in the selective solvent n‐heptane. The molecular weights of the poly(butadiene) (PB) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) blocks are 26 and 3.5 kg · mol−1, respectively. In this solvent, micellization into a liquid PEO‐core and a corona of PB‐chains takes place at room temperature. Through a thermally controlled crystallization of the PEO core at −30 °C, spherical micelles with a crystalline PEO core and a PB corona are obtained. However, crystallization at much lower temperatures (−196 °C; liquid nitrogen) leads to the transition from spherical to rod‐like micelles. With time these rod‐like micelles aggregate and form long needles. Concomitantly, the degree of crystallinity of the PEO‐cores of the rod‐like micelles increases. The transition from a spherical to a rod‐like morphology can be explained by a decrease of solvent power of the solvent n‐heptane for the PB‐corona chains: n‐Heptane becomes a poor solvent at very low temperatures leading to a shrinking of the coronar chains. This favors the transition from spheres to a morphology with a smaller mean curvature, that is, to a cylindrical morphology.
Layer‐by‐layer (LbL) assembly was conducted on CaCO3 microparticles pre‐doped with polystyrene‐block‐poly(acrylic acid) (PS‐b‐PAA) micelles, and resulted in micelles encapsulation in the microcapsules after core removal. Distribution of the micelles in the templates and capsules was characterized by transmission electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy. The micelles inside the capsules connected with each other to form a chain and network‐like structure with a higher density near the capsule walls. The hydrophobic PS cores were then able to load small uncharged hydrophobic drugs while the negatively charged PAA corona could induce spontaneous deposition of water‐soluble positively charged drugs such as doxorubicin.
Summary: Intelligent hydrogels were prepared upon polymerization of micellar aqueous comonomer solutions and microemulsions containing the cationic surfactant monomer 11-acryloyloxyundecyltrimethylammonium bromide (AUTMAB) and N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM). A chemically and physically cross-linked network structure is formed consisting of blocks of P-NIPAM and P-AUTMAB. The P-AUTMAB blocks act as physical cross-linking units improving the mechanical stability of the gel. While pure P-NIPAM hydrogels are disrupted under low compression, gels polymerized from micellar solution or microemulsion can be reversibly compressed. The presence of AUTMAB in the gel increases the swelling up to a factor of 30 compared with the pure P-NIPAM gel. Rapid and reversible swelling is observed for hydrogels with an AUTMAB content up to 2.5 wt.-%. 相似文献
ISCOM matrices constitute colloidal structures formed from Quillaja saponins, cholesterol and phospholipid. Addition of protein antigens to these matrices leads to the formation of ISCOMs. In this review we report on microscopic investigations of ISCOM matrices and ISCOMs as well as related colloidal structures, such as helices, worm-like micelles, ring-like micelles, and lamellae structures. We briefly outline the immunologic basis for the use of ISCOMs as vaccine delivery systems, and describe the various methods to form ISCOMs. Negative staining transmission electron micrographs of all colloidal structures are presented and described. On the basis of our microscopic investigations, different formation mechanisms of ISCOMS are discussed. 相似文献
A micellar approach is proposed to build a series of systems featuring an "off-on-off" fluorescent window response with changes in pH. The solubilizing properties of micelles are used to self-assemble, in water, plain pyrene with lipophilized pyridine and tertiary amine moieties. Since these components are contained in the small volume of the same micelle, pyrene fluorescence is influenced by the basic moieties: protonated pyridines and free tertiary amines behave as quenchers. Accordingly, fluorescence transitions from the "off" to the "on" state, and viceversa, take place when the pH crosses the pK(a) values of the amine and pyridine fragments. To obtain an "off-on-off" fluorescent response in this investigation we use either a set of dibasic lipophilic molecules (containing covalently linked pyridine and tertiary amine groups) or combinations of separate, lipophilic pyridines and tertiary amines. The use of combinations of dibasic and monobasic lipophilic molecules also gives a window-shaped fluorescence response with changes in pH: it is the highest pyridine pK(a) and the lowest tertiary amine pK(a) that determine the window limits. The pK(a) values of all the examined lipophilic molecules were determined in micelles, and compared with the values found for the same molecules in solvent mixtures in which they are molecularly dispersed. The effect of micellization is to significantly lower the observed protonation constants of the lipophilized species. Moreover, the more lipophilic a molecule is, the lower the observed logK value is. Accordingly, changing the substituents on the basic moieties or modifying their structure, tuning the lipophilicity of the mono- or dibases, and choosing among a large set of possible combination of lipophilized mono- and dibases have allowed us to tune, almost at will, both the width and the position along the pH axis of the obtained fluorescent window. 相似文献
