A plethora of stimuli-responsive micellar aggregates with a compartmentalized shell can be formed in aqueous solution from ABC triblock terpolymers with tunable hydrophilicity. Polybutadiene-blockpoly(tert-butyl methacrylate)-block-poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PB-b-PtBMA-b-PDMAEMA) and, after modifications by hydrolysis to poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) or quaternization to PDMAEMAq, PB-b-PMAA-b-PDMAEMAq terpolymers self-assemble in water, depending on pH and temperature. We demonstrate control over micellar shape, size, and charge via three different preparation pathways. Even more, the micelles are capable of undergoing rearrangements in both the shell and the corona in response to external stimuli like pH or salinity. In that way, different structures such as multicompartment, core-shell-corona or flower-like micelles were identified and characterized via cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The presence of two oppositely charged polyelectrolyte blocks within the structures leads to the formation of intramicellar interpolyelectrolyte complexes (im-IPECs) in the shell of the particles. Surprisingly, the im-IPEC formed between PMAA and PDMAEMAq can be redissolved by changes in pH, even in the absence of additional salt.
We report the preparation of water-soluble organo-silica hybrid nanotubes templated by core-shell-corona structured triblock terpolymer cylindrical polymer brushes (CPBs). The CPBs consist of a polymethacrylate backbone, a poly(tert-butyl acrylate) (PtBA) core, a poly(3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl acrylate) (PAPTS) shell, and a poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate) (POEGMA) corona. They were prepared via the "grafting from" strategy by the combination of two living/controlled polymerization techniques: anionic polymerization for the backbone and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) for the triblock terpolymer side chains. The monomers tBA, APTS, and OEGMA were consecutively grown from the pendant ATRP initiating groups along the backbone to spatially organize the silica precursor, the trimethoxysilyl groups, into a tubular manner. The synthesized core-shell-corona structured CPBs then served as a unimolecular cylindrical template for the in situ fabrication of water-soluble organo-silica hybrid nanotubes via base-catalyzed condensation of the PAPTS shell block. The formed tubular nanostructures were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), cryogenic TEM, and atomic force microscopy.
We describe the preparation of well-defined multicompartment micelles from polybutadiene-block-poly(1-methyl-2-vinyl pyridinium methyl sulfate)-block-poly(methacrylic acid) (BVqMAA) triblock terpolymers and their use as advanced drug delivery systems for photodynamic therapy (PDT). A porphyrazine derivative was incorporated into the hydrophobic core during self-assembly and served as a model drug and fluorescent probe at the same time. The initial micellar corona is formed by negatively charged PMAA and could be gradually changed to poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) in a controlled fashion through interpolyelectrolyte complex formation of PMAA with positively charged poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(L-lysine) (PLL-b-PEG) diblock copolymers. At high degrees of PEGylation, a compartmentalized micellar corona was observed, with a stable bottlebrush-on-sphere morphology as demonstrated by cryo-TEM measurements. By in vitro cellular experiments, we confirmed that the porphyrazine-loaded micelles were PDT-active against A549 cells. The corona composition strongly influenced their in vitro PDT activity, which decreased with increasing PEGylation, correlating with the cellular uptake of the micelles. Also, a PEGylation-dependent influence on the in vivo blood circulation and tumor accumulation was found. Fully PEGylated micelles were detected for up to 24 h in the bloodstream and accumulated in solid subcutaneous A549 tumors, while non- or only partially PEGylated micelles were rapidly cleared and did not accumulate in tumor tissue. Efficient tumor growth suppression was shown for fully PEGylated micelles up to 20 days, demonstrating PDT efficacy in vivo.
Directed self-assembly processes of polymeric systems represent a powerful approach for the generation of structural hierarchy in analogy to biological systems. Herein, we utilize triiodide as a strongly polarizable counterion to induce hierarchical self-assembly of an ABC miktoarm star terpolymer comprising a polybutadiene (PB), a poly(tert-butyl methacrylate) (PtBMA), and a poly(N-methyl-2-vinylpyridinium) (P2VPq) segment. Hereby, the miktoarm architecture in conjunction with an increasing ratio of triiodide versus iodide counterions allows for a stepwise assembly of spherical micelles as initial building blocks into cylindrical structures and superstructures thereof. Finally, micrometer-sized multicompartment particles with a periodic lamellar fine structure are observed, for which we introduce the term "woodlouse". The counterion-mediated decrease in hydrophilicity of the corona-forming P2VPq block is the underlying trigger to induce this hierarchical structure formation. All individual steps and the corresponding intermediates toward these well-defined superstructures were intensively studied by scattering and electron microscopic techniques, including transmission electron microtomography.
We demonstrate the synthesis of uniform one-dimensional (1D) titania hybrid nanotubes using core–shell–corona cylindrical polymer brushes (CPBs) as soft templates. The CPBs consist of a polymethacrylate backbone with densely grafted poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) as the core, poly(2-(dimethlamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) as the cationic shell, and poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate) (POEGMA) as the corona. The weak polyelectrolyte shell complexed an oppositely charged titania precursor, namely titanium(IV) bis(ammonium lactate) dihydroxide (TALH), and then acted as a nanoreactor for the hydrolysis and condensation of TALH, resulting in crystalline TiO2. The POEGMA shell provides solubility in aqueous and organic solvents. The hybrid titania nanotubes containing anatase nanoparticles were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electrion microscopy (SEM). The phase purity of the crystalline nanostructures was verified by powder X-ray diffractometry (PXRD).
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