Self‐Assembly of Rod‐Coil Bottlebrush Copolymers into Degradable Nanodiscs with a UV‐Triggered Self‐Immolation Process

Abstract

Polymer nanodiscs, especially with stimuli‐responsive features, represent an unexplored frontier in the nanomaterial landscape. Such 2D nanomaterials are however considered highly promising for advanced biomedicine applications. Herein, we designed a coil‐rod copolymer architecture based on an amphiphilic, tadpole‐like bottlebrush copolymer, which can directly self‐assemble into core‐shell nanodiscs in an aqueous environment. As the bottlebrush side chains are made of amorphous, UV‐responsive poly (ethyl glyoxylate) (PEtG) chains, they can undergo rapid end‐to‐end self‐immolation upon light irradiation. This triggered nanodisc disassembly can be used to boost small molecule release from the nanodisc core which is further aided by a morphological change from discs to spheres.

Loop to linear: exploring the impact of corona topology on the properties of self-assembled polymer nanoparticles

“…2,8–11 Unlike other stimuli, light offers the advantage of being readily accessible and can be employed without additional reagents and under mild reaction conditions. Various light-responsive systems, such as anthracene dimerisation, 12,13 azobenzene, 11,14 and o -nitrobenzyl ( o -NB), 15–18 have been developed, enabling precise control over molecules by adjusting parameters such as light intensity, wavelength, and irradiation time. Such photo-responsive reactions are highly selective and preserve interactions that grant the integrity of self-assembled nanomaterials.…”