Aggregation and Crosslinking of Poly(N,N‐dimethylacrylamide)‐b‐pullulan Double Hydrophilic Block Copolymers

Abstract

The self‐assembly of polymers is a major topic in current polymer chemistry. In here, the self‐assembly of a pullulan based double hydrophilic block copolymer, namely pullulan‐b‐poly(N,N‐dimethylacrylamide)‐co‐poly(diacetone acrylamide) (Pull‐b‐(PDMA‐co‐PDAAM)) is described. The hydrophilic block copolymer induces phase separation at high concentration in aqueous solution. Additionally, the block copolymer displays aggregates at lower concentration, which show a size dependence on concentration. In order to stabilize the aggregates, crosslinking via oxime formation is described, which enables preservation of aggregates at high dilution, in dialysis and in organic solvents. With adequate stability by crosslinking, double hydrophilic block copolymer (DHBC) aggregates open pathways for potential biomedical applications in the future.

All-Aqueous Multi-phase Systems and Emulsions Formed via Low-Concentration Ultra-high-Molar Mass Polyacrylamides

“…The feature of our ultra-high-molar mass polyacrylamide w/w emulsion system is relevant for application as water droplets and polymer-enriched phases are formed, similar to what we found in previous studies with double-hydrophilic block copolymers. , This effect might be useful for partitioning and separation of biomolecules.…”

“…Due to their aggregation behavior in water as part of double-hydrophilic block copolymers, polyacrylamides represent a good choice for an ATPS and the formation of w/w emulsions. − To investigate the novel high-molar mass polyacrylamide-based ATPS, reversible-deactivation radical polymerization like reversible addition–fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization is a good approach to synthesize polyacrylamides. − Especially, the procedure from Sumerlin and co-workers seems promising to obtain high-molar mass PAAMs as performed via photo-iniferter (PI)-RAFT polymerization, which readily achieves molar masses above 1 × 10 6 g·mol –1 .…”

Selective Partitioning of (Biomacro)molecules in the Crowded Environment of Double-Hydrophilic Block Copolymers

“…In any case, as demonstrated above, the superiority of DHBC phase separation over ATPS consists of the fact that biomacromolecules become enriched in the polymer-depleted phase; they are enriched better than in an example ATPS, with both of the findings suggesting that DHBCs offer an improved pathway for purification of biomaterials. We also foresee that DHBC could find applications similar to those of ATPS, namely, as crowding reagents for in vitro biochemical investigations, − such as those demonstrating crowding-induced changes in DNA hybridization, enzyme complex formation, nanoparticle synthesis, and protein folding, association, and aggregation …”

Polysaccharide nanoparticles: from fabrication to applications

“…Developing NP systems formed by polysaccharides and polymers have potential applications in many areas such as drug delivery, Pickering emulsifiers, and improving the properties of polymer-based materials. 70,[149][150][151] As such, polysaccharide/ polymer NP systems combine the advantages of both polysaccharides and polymers, bringing benefits to overcome difficult challenges that belong to the individual materials (Scheme 6).…”