Self-Assembly Behavior and pH-Stimuli-Responsive Property of POSS-Based Amphiphilic Block Copolymers in Solution

Abstract

Stimuli-responsive polymeric systems containing special responsive moieties can undergo alteration of chemical structures and physical properties in response to external stimulus. We synthesized a hybrid amphiphilic block copolymer containing methoxy polyethylene glycol (MePEG), methacrylate isobutyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (MAPOSS) and 2-(diisopropylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DPA) named MePEG-b-P(MAPOSS-co-DPA) via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Spherical micelles with a core-shell structure were obtained by a self-assembly process based on MePEG-b-P(MAPOSS-co-DPA), which showed a pH-responsive property. The influence of hydrophobic chain length on the self-assembly behavior was also studied. The pyrene release properties of micelles and their ability of antifouling were further studied.

Nano-Carriers Based on pH-Sensitive Star-Shaped Copolymers for Drug-Controlled Release

“…In the pH range of 5–7, the size of the micelles showed an increasing trend, which may be related to the deprotonation of PMAA and swelling of the micelles. Zeta potential presented higher negative charges as shown in Figure 3c also confirmed the ionization of the -COOH groups from PMAA [24]. The negative charges of the micelles could benefit the bioadhesion between the micelles and intestinal epithelial cells [12,34,35,36].…”

“…Zhu et al made an in-depth study on cholic acid-based star polymers for drug delivery system [20,21,22]. Recently, star-shaped copolymers bearing rigid molecular core (e.g., POSS) use as nano-carriers of drugs or DNA have attracted more attention [23,24,25]. Adamantane (Ad) with the same rigid and cubic core as POSS, but the good lipophilicity and biocompatibility, has been widely studied in medicine, functional materials as well as nanotechnology.…”

Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxanes (POSS)‐based Hybrid Materials: Molecular Design, Solution Self‐Assembly and Biomedical Applications

“…prepared a series of POSS‐based hybrid amphiphilic block copolymers with the DPA and MePEG moieties via the efficient ATRP technique. [ 101 ] Self‐assembly behavior of resultant MePEG‐ b ‐P(MAPOSS‐ co ‐DPA) in aqueous solutions was affected by hydrophilic/hydrophobic ratio, and the variation of nanometer size was positively related with the amount of MAPOSS units. Owing to the strong hydrophobicity of POSS chain ends, the micelle formation driven by hydrophobic effect led to a smaller micelle size.…”

Editorial for the Special Issue on Self-Assembly of Polymers

“…This special issue gives insights into diverse spectrum of peculiar tailor-made self-assembled polymer structures and hybrid materials that have been designed through modern powerful techniques and approaches such as the micellization [1], hydrogel formation [2,3], self-assembly at the air-liquid interface [4], the layer-by-layer deposition and the hard templating [5,6], solvent evaporation [7,8], photo-induced [9] and enzyme-mediated cross-linking [10].…”

“…This includes both, chemical stimuli such as pH and physical stimuli including light. In this special issue, Xu et al presented an elegant way for fabrication of pH-responsive amphiphilic block copolymer-based assembles [1]; Yang et al paid special attention on photo-triggered assembly of polymer-based nanostructures [9].…”