A Thermo-Responsive Polymer Micelle with a Liquid Crystalline Core

Autor: Yoko Mizoue, Rintaro Takahashi, Kazuo Sakurai, Shin-ichi Yusa
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Polymers, Vol 15, Iss 3, p 770 (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2073-4360
DOI: 10.3390/polym15030770
Popis: An amphiphilic diblock copolymer (PChM-PNIPAM), composed of poly(cholesteryl 6-methacryloyloxy hexanoate) (PChM) and poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAM) blocks, was prepared via reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer radical polymerization. The PChM and PNIPAM blocks exhibited liquid crystalline behavior and a lower critical solution temperature (LCST), respectively. PChM-PNIPAM formed water-soluble polymer micelles in water below the LCST because of hydrophobic interactions of the PChM blocks. The PChM and PNIPAM blocks formed the core and hydrophilic shell of the micelles, respectively. With increasing temperature, the molecular motion of the pendant cholesteryl groups increased, and a liquid crystalline phase transition occurred from an amorphous state in the core. With further increases in temperature, the PNIPAM block in the shell exhibited the LCST and dehydrated. Hydrophobic interactions of the PNIPAM shells resulted in inter-micellar aggregation above the LCST.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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