Synthesis of pH-responsive block copolymer micelles via RAFT polymerization induced self-assembly and its application in emulsifier-free emulsion polymerization

In chemically fueled supramolecular materials, molecular self-assembly is coupled to a fuel-driven chemical reaction cycle. The fuel-dependence makes the material dynamic and endows it with exciting properties like adaptivity and autonomy. In contrast to the large work on the self-assembly of small molecules, we herein designed a diblock copolymer, which self assembles into transient micelles when coupled to a fuel-driven chemical reaction cycle. Moreover, we used these transient block copolymer micelles to locally increase the concentration of hydrophobic reagents and thereby function as a transient nanoreactor.

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Self-regulated co-assembly of soft and hard nanoparticles

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-021-25995-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yan Cui ◽

Hongyan Zhu ◽

Jiandong Cai ◽

Huibin Qiu

Keyword(s):

Block Copolymer ◽

Self Assembly ◽

Colloidal Particles ◽

Noncovalent Interactions ◽

Relative Size ◽

Colloidal Assembly ◽

Artificial Materials ◽

Block Copolymer Micelles ◽

Copolymer Micelles ◽

Individual Nanoparticles

AbstractControlled self-assembly of colloidal particles into predetermined organization facilitates the bottom-up manufacture of artificial materials with designated hierarchies and synergistically integrated functionalities. However, it remains a major challenge to assemble individual nanoparticles with minimal building instructions in a programmable fashion due to the lack of directional interactions. Here, we develop a general paradigm for controlled co-assembly of soft block copolymer micelles and simple unvarnished hard nanoparticles through variable noncovalent interactions, including hydrogen bonding and coordination interactions. Upon association, the hairy micelle corona binds with the hard nanoparticles with a specific valence depending exactly on their relative size and feeding ratio. This permits the integration of block copolymer micelles with a diverse array of hard nanoparticles with tunable chemistry into multidimensional colloidal molecules and polymers. Secondary co-assembly of the resulting colloidal molecules further leads to the formation of more complex hierarchical colloidal superstructures. Notably, such colloidal assembly is processible on surface either through initiating the alternating co-assembly from a micelle immobilized on a substrate or directly grafting a colloidal oligomer onto the micellar anchor.

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Single-step self-assembly to uniform fiber-like core-crystalline block copolymer micelles

Chemical Communications ◽

10.1039/d0cc00153h ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 56 (33) ◽

pp. 4595-4598 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Shaofei Song ◽

Hang Zhou ◽

Garion Hicks ◽

Chandresh Kumar Rastogi ◽

Qing Yu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Block Copolymer ◽

Self Assembly ◽

Single Step ◽

Block Copolymer Micelles ◽

Copolymer Micelles ◽

Step Crystallization

Accessing uniform fiber-like micelles by single-step crystallization-driven co-self-assembly of a block copolymer with a trace of homopolymer.

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Characterization and optimization of pH-responsive polymer nanoparticles for drug delivery to oral biofilms

Journal of Materials Chemistry B ◽

10.1039/c5tb02054a ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 (18) ◽

pp. 3075-3085 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

Jiayi Zhou ◽

Benjamin Horev ◽

Geelsu Hwang ◽

Marlise I. Klein ◽

Hyun Koo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Drug Delivery ◽

Block Copolymer ◽

Drug Release ◽

Polymer Nanoparticles ◽

Ph Responsive ◽

Molecular Weights ◽

Responsive Polymer ◽

Oral Biofilms ◽

Block Copolymer Micelles ◽

Copolymer Micelles

Corona and core molecular weights of p(DMAEMA)-b-p(DMAEMA-co-BMA-co-PAA) block copolymer micelles can be tuned to enhance drug release in response to acidic milieus consistent with oral biofilms.

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