A new and general design strategy is presented for amphiphilic block copolymers whose micellar aggregates can be dissociated by light. A diblock copolymer composed of hydrophilic poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and a hydrophobic polymethacrylate bearing pyrene pendant groups (PPy) was synthesized using ATRP. Upon UV light irradiation of polymer micellar solutions, the photosolvolysis of pyrene moiet...

The novel self-assembling bottlebrush polyethylene glycol-polynorbornene-thiocresol block copolymers (PEG-PNB-TC) were synthesized by the ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP), followed by functionalization of the polymer backbone via the thio-bromo "click" postpolymerization strategy. The PEG-PNB-TC copolymers could easily self-assemble into the nanoscale core-shell polymeric micelles....

– We investigate the aggregation number and size distributions for inter-molecular clusters of amphiphilic diblock and triblock copolymers in poor solvent at very low concentrations. Diblocks and triblocks with hydrophilic ends are shown to possess narrow distributions corresponding to formation of monodispersed mesoglobules. Diblocks with hydrophobic ends are found to produce inter-cluster mul...

A new family of linear polymers with pronounced affinity for arginine- and lysine-rich proteins has been created. To this end, N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) was copolymerized in water with a binding monomer and a hydrophobic comonomer using a living radical polymerization (RAFT). The resulting copolymers were water-soluble and displayed narrow polydispersities. They formed tight complexes with ...

Amphiphilic block copolymer micelles have been the focus of research for the last decades because of the promising properties as nano size drug delivery vehicles. In polar aqueous milieu, copolymers self assemble into micelle structures which consist of hydrophilic corona and hydrophobic core regions. Space created inside the micelle core can be used for transportation of drug molecules of hydr...

Attachment of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to polymeric nanostructures is a general strategy for sterically shielding and imparting water solubility to hydrophobic payloads. In this report, we describe direct graft-through polymerization of branched, multifunctional macromonomers that possess a PEG domain and a hydrophobic nitroxide domain. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy was ...

Polymers with quaternary ammonium groups such as quaternized poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMAQ) have been used as antimicrobial agents because of their demonstrated good antimicrobial activities against a huge number and types of microbes, although their cytotoxicity is also well-known. In this work block copolymers based on PDMAEMAQ were synthesized containing hydrophobic seg...

Polymeric micelles obtained from the self-assembly of amphiphilic block copolymers are probably one of the most common drug delivery carriers among polymeric nanoparticles.1–4 The rise of highly controlled polymerization techniques, especially processes such as ATRP5 and RAFT,6 has led to an extraordinary surge of new types of block copolymers fit for biomedical applications. Facile control ove...

Non-flouro copolymers containing a hydrophobic alkyl acrylate monomer (butyl acrylate/2-ethylhexyl acrylate/ lauryl acrylate) and a reactive monomer (maleic anhydride) have been synthesized using emulsion polymerization technique. The copolymer emulsions have been applied on to cotton fabric by a pad-dry-cure process and the water repellency of the fabrics before and after vigorous washes compa...

(ABSTRACT) Linear thermoplastic polyesters are commonly used in high volume applications such as food containers, films and textile fibers. The physical and mechanical properties of these materials are well documented and are a function of chemical structure and morphology (e.g. semi-crystalline, amorphous, etc.). Polyesters, as are many organic polymers, are quite flammable. Polydimethylsiloxa...