@article{KapernaumLangeEbertetal.2022,
  author    = {Kapernaum, Nadia and Lange, Alyna and Ebert, Max and Grunwald, Marco A. and H{\"a}ge, Christian and Marino, Sebastian and Zens, Anna and Taubert, Andreas and Gießelmann, Frank and Laschat, Sabine},
  title     = {Current topics in ionic liquid crystals},
  series = {ChemPlusChem},
  volume    = {87},
  journal   = {ChemPlusChem},
  number    = {1},
  publisher = {Wiley-VCH},
  address   = {Weinheim},
  issn      = {2192-6506},
  doi       = {10.1002/cplu.202100397},
  pages     = {38},
  year      = {2022},
  abstract  = {Ionic liquid crystals (ILCs), that is, ionic liquids exhibiting mesomorphism, liquid crystalline phases, and anisotropic properties, have received intense attention in the past years. Among others, this is due to their special properties arising from the combination of properties stemming from ionic liquids and from liquid crystalline arrangements. Besides interesting fundamental aspects, ILCs have been claimed to have tremendous application potential that again arises from the combination of properties and architectures that are not accessible otherwise, or at least not accessible easily by other strategies. The current review highlights recent developments in ILC research, starting with some key fundamental aspects. Further subjects covered include the synthesis and variations of modern ILCs, including the specific tuning of their mesomorphic behavior. The review concludes with reflections on some applications that may be within reach for ILCs and finally highlights a few key challenges that must be overcome prior and during true commercialization of ILCs.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{MehrGrigorievHeatonetal.2020,
  author    = {Mehr, Fatemeh Naderi and Grigoriev, Dmitry and Heaton, Rebecca and Baptiste, Joshua and Stace, Anthony J. and Puretskiy, Nikolay and Besley, Elena and B{\"o}ker, Alexander},
  title     = {Self-assembly behavior of oppositely charged inverse bipatchy microcolloids},
  series = {Small : nano micro},
  volume    = {16},
  journal   = {Small : nano micro},
  number    = {14},
  publisher = {Wiley-VCH},
  address   = {Weinheim},
  issn      = {1613-6810},
  doi       = {10.1002/smll.202000442},
  pages     = {9},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {A directed attractive interaction between predefined "patchy" sites on the surfaces of anisotropic microcolloids can provide them with the ability to self-assemble in a controlled manner to build target structures of increased complexity. An important step toward the controlled formation of a desired superstructure is to identify reversible electrostatic interactions between patches which allow them to align with one another. The formation of bipatchy particles with two oppositely charged patches fabricated using sandwich microcontact printing is reported. These particles spontaneously self-aggregate in solution, where a diversity of short and long chains of bipatchy particles with different shapes, such as branched, bent, and linear, are formed. Calculations show that chain formation is driven by a combination of attractive electrostatic interactions between oppositely charged patches and the charge-induced polarization of interacting particles.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{KochovskiChenYuanetal.2020,
  author    = {Kochovski, Zdravko and Chen, Guosong and Yuan, Jiayin and Lu, Yan},
  title     = {Cryo-Electron microscopy for the study of self-assembled poly(ionic liquid) nanoparticles and protein supramolecular structures},
  series = {Colloid and polymer science : official journal of the Kolloid-Gesellschaft},
  volume    = {298},
  journal   = {Colloid and polymer science : official journal of the Kolloid-Gesellschaft},
  number    = {7},
  publisher = {Springer},
  address   = {New York},
  issn      = {0303-402X},
  doi       = {10.1007/s00396-020-04657-w},
  pages     = {707 -- 717},
  year      = {2020},
  abstract  = {Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is a powerful structure determination technique that is well-suited to the study of protein and polymer self-assembly in solution. In contrast to conventional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) sample preparation, which often times involves drying and staining, the frozen-hydrated sample preparation allows the specimens to be kept and imaged in a state closest to their native one. Here, we give a short overview of the basic principles of Cryo-EM and review our results on applying it to the study of different protein and polymer self-assembled nanostructures. More specifically, we show how we have applied cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) to visualize the internal morphology of self-assembled poly(ionic liquid) nanoparticles and cryo-EM single particle analysis (SPA) to determine the three-dimensional (3D) structures of artificial protein microtubules.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Dambowsky2021,
  author    = {Dambowsky, Ina},
  title     = {Bioinspirierte Komposite - Strukturbildung durch Verkleben von Nano- oder Mesokristallen mit funktionalisierten Poly(2-oxazolin)en},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-52367},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-523671},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {XII, 220},
  year      = {2021},
  abstract  = {Die herausragenden mechanischen Eigenschaften nat{\"u}rlicher anorganisch-organischer Kompositmaterialien wie Knochen oder Muschelschalen entspringen ihrer hierarchischen Struktur, die von der nano- bis hinauf zur makroskopischen Ebene reicht, und einer kontrollierten Verbindung entlang der Grenzfl{\"a}chen der anorganischen und organischen Komponenten. Ausgehend von diesen Schl{\"u}sselprinzipien des biologischen Materialdesigns wurden in dieser Arbeit zwei Konzepte f{\"u}r die bioinspirierte Strukturbildung von Kompositen untersucht, die auf dem Verkleben von Nano- oder Mesokristallen mit funktionalisierten Poly(2-oxazolin)-Blockcopolymeren beruhen sowie deren Potenzial zur Herstellung bioinspirierter selbstorganisierter hierarchischer anorganisch-organischer Verbundstrukturen ohne {\"a}ußere Kr{\"a}fte beleuchtet. Die Konzepte unterschieden sich in den verwendeten anorganischen Partikeln und in der Art der Strukturbildung. {\"U}ber einen modularen Ansatz aus Polymersynthese und polymeranaloger Thiol-En-Funktionalisierung wurde erfolgreich eine Bibliothek von Poly(2-oxazolin)en mit unterschiedlichen Funktionalit{\"a}ten erstellt. Die Blockcopolymere bestehen aus einem kurzen partikelaffinen "Klebeblock", der aus Thiol-En-funktionalisiertem Poly(2-(3-butenyl)-2-oxazolin) besteht, und einem langen wasserl{\"o}slichen, strukturbildenden Block, der aus thermoresponsivem und kristallisierbarem Poly(2-isopropyl-2-oxazolin) besteht und hierarchische Morphologien ausbildet. Verschiedene analytische Untersuchungen wie Turbidimetrie, DLS, DSC, SEM oder XRD machten das thermoresponsive bzw. das Kristallisationsverhalten der Blockcopolymere in Abh{\"a}ngigkeit vom eingef{\"u}hrten Klebeblock zug{\"a}nglich. Es zeigte sich, dass diese Polymere ein komplexes temperatur- und pH-abh{\"a}ngiges Tr{\"u}bungsverhalten aufweisen. Hinsichtlich der Kristallisation {\"a}nderte der Klebeblock nicht die nanoskopische Kristallstruktur; er beeinflusste jedoch die Kristallisationszeit, den Kristallisationsgrad und die hierarchische Morphologie. Dieses Ergebnis wurde auf das unterschiedliche Aggregationsverhalten der Polymere in Wasser zur{\"u}ckgef{\"u}hrt. F{\"u}r die Herstellung von Kompositen nutzte Konzept 1 mikrometergroße Kupferoxalat-Mesokristalle, die eine innere Nanostruktur aufweisen. Die Strukturbildung {\"u}ber den anorganischen Teil wurde durch das Verkleben und Anordnen dieser Partikel erstrebt. Konzept 1 erm{\"o}glichte homogene freistehende stabile Kompositfilme mit einem hohen anorganischen Anteil. Die Partikel-Polymer-Kombination vereinte jedoch ung{\"u}nstige Eigenschaften in sich, d. h. ihre L{\"a}ngenskalen waren zu unterschiedlich, was die Selbstassemblierung der Partikel verhinderte. Aufgrund des geringen Aspektverh{\"a}ltnisses von Kupferoxalat blieb auch die gegenseitige Ausrichtung durch {\"a}ußere Kr{\"a}fte erfolglos. Im Ergebnis eignet sich das Kupferoxalat-Poly(2-oxazolin)-Modellsystem nicht f{\"u}r die Herstellung hierarchischer Kompositstrukturen. Im Gegensatz dazu verwendet Konzept 2 scheibenf{\"o}rmige Laponit®-Nanopartikel und kristallisierbare Blockcopolymere zur Strukturbildung {\"u}ber die organische Komponente durch polymervermittelte Selbstassemblierung. Komplement{\"a}re Analysemethoden (Zeta-Potenzial, DLS, SEM, XRD, DSC, TEM) zeigten sowohl eine kontrollierte Wechselwirkung zwischen den Komponenten in w{\"a}ssriger Umgebung als auch eine kontrollierte Strukturbildung, die in selbstassemblierten Nanokompositen resultiert, deren Struktur sich {\"u}ber mehrere L{\"a}ngenskalen erstreckt. Es wurde gezeigt, dass die negativ geladenen Klebebl{\"o}cke spezifisch und selektiv an den positiv geladenen R{\"a}ndern der Laponit®-Partikel binden und so Polymer-Laponit®-Nanohybridpartikel entstehen, die als Grundbausteine f{\"u}r die Kompositbildung dienen. Die Hybridpartikel sind bei Raumtemperatur elektrosterisch stabilisiert - sterisch durch ihre langen, mit Wasser wechselwirkenden Poly(2-isopropyl-2-oxazolin)-Bl{\"o}cke und elektrostatisch {\"u}ber die negativ geladenen Laponit®-Fl{\"a}chen. Im Ergebnis ließ sich Konzept 2 und damit die Strukturbildung {\"u}ber die organische Komponente erfolgreich umsetzten. Das Laponit®-Poly(2-oxazolin)-Modellsystem er{\"o}ffnete den Weg zu selbstassemblierten geschichteten quasi-hierarchischen Nanokompositstrukturen mit hohem anorganischen Anteil. Abh{\"a}ngig von der frei verf{\"u}gbaren Polymerkonzentration bei der Kompositbildung entstanden zwei unterschiedliche Komposit-Typen. Dar{\"u}ber hinaus entwarf die Arbeit einen Erkl{\"a}rungsansatz f{\"u}r den polymervermittelten Bildungsprozess der Komposit-Strukturen. Insgesamt legt diese Arbeit Struktur-Prozess-Eigenschafts-Beziehungen offen, um selbstassemblierte bioinspirierte Kompositstrukturen zu bilden und liefert neue Einsichten zu einer geeigneten Kombination an Komponenten und Herstellungsbedingungen, die eine kontrollierte selbstassemblierte Strukturbildung mithilfe funktionalisierter Poly(2-oxazolin)-Blockcopolymere erlauben.},
  language  = {de}
}
@article{StanglmairNeubrechPacholski2018,
  author    = {Stanglmair, Christoph and Neubrech, Frank and Pacholski, Claudia},
  title     = {Chemical routes to surface enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) substrates},
  series = {Zeitschrift f{\"u}r physikalische Chemie : international journal of research in physical chemistry and chemical physics},
  volume    = {232},
  journal   = {Zeitschrift f{\"u}r physikalische Chemie : international journal of research in physical chemistry and chemical physics},
  number    = {9-11},
  publisher = {De Gruyter},
  address   = {Berlin},
  issn      = {0942-9352},
  doi       = {10.1515/zpch-2018-1132},
  pages     = {1527 -- 1539},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {Bottom-up strategies for fabricating SEIRA substrates are presented. For this purpose, wet-chemically prepared gold nanoparticles are coated with a polystyrene shell and subsequently self-assembled into different nanostructures such as quasi-hexagonally ordered gold nanoparticle monolayers, double layers, and honeycomb structures. Furthermore elongated gold nanostructures are obtained by sintering of gold nanoparticle double layers. The optical properties of these different gold nanostructures are directly connected to their morphology and geometrical arrangement - leading to surface plasmon resonances from the visible to the infrared wavelength range. Finally, SEIRA enhancement factors are determined. Gold nanoparticle double layers show the best performance as SEIRA substrates.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{NoackSchanzenbachKoetzetal.2018,
  author    = {Noack, Sebastian and Schanzenbach, Dirk and Koetz, Joachim and Schlaad, Helmut},
  title     = {Polylactide-based amphiphilic block copolymers},
  series = {Macromolecular rapid communications},
  volume    = {40},
  journal   = {Macromolecular rapid communications},
  number    = {1},
  publisher = {Wiley-VCH},
  address   = {Weinheim},
  issn      = {1022-1336},
  doi       = {10.1002/marc.201800639},
  pages     = {6},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {The aqueous self-assembly behavior of a series of poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(l-/d-lactide) block copolymers and corresponding stereocomplexes is examined by differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic light scattering, and transmission electron microscopy. Block copolymers assemble into spherical micelles and worm-like aggregates at room temperature, whereby the fraction of the latter seemingly increases with decreasing lactide weight fraction or hydrophobicity. The formation of the worm-like aggregates arises from the crystallization of the polylactide by which the spherical micelles become colloidally unstable and fuse epitaxically with other micelles. The self-assembly behavior of the stereocomplex aggregates is found to be different from that of the block copolymers, resulting in rather irregular-shaped clusters of spherical micelles and pearl-necklace-like structures.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{LangeWagnerZentel2006,
  author    = {Lange, Birger and Wagner, J{\"u}rgen and Zentel, Rudolf},
  title     = {Fabrication of robust high-quality ORMOCER (R) inverse opals},
  series = {Macromolecular rapid communications},
  volume    = {27},
  journal   = {Macromolecular rapid communications},
  publisher = {Wiley-VCH},
  address   = {Weinheim},
  issn      = {1022-1336},
  doi       = {10.1002/marc.200600429},
  pages     = {1746 -- 1751},
  year      = {2006},
  abstract  = {The nanostructuring of ORMOCER (R) to form inverse opals is described. For this purpose a polymer opal is used as a template and infiltrated with liquid ORMOCER (R). After photopolymerization of the resin the host opal is dissolved in tetrahydrofuran and an ORMOCER (R) inverse opal is obtained. It shows excellent periodicity (by SEM) and optical properties to reveal a high degree of face centered cubic order. This replication process leads to a nanostructured photonic crystal with the outstanding mechanical properties of ORMOCER (R) and high temperature stability up to 350 degrees C.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Zhang2019,
  author    = {Zhang, Shuhao},
  title     = {Synthesis and self-assembly of protein-polymer conjugates for the preparation of biocatalytically active membranes},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {VIII, 161},
  year      = {2019},
  abstract  = {This thesis covers the synthesis of conjugates of 2-Deoxy-D-ribose-5-phosphate aldolase (DERA) with suitable polymers and the subsequent immobilization of these conjugates in thin films via two different approaches. 2-Deoxy-D-ribose-5-phosphate aldolase (DERA) is a biocatalyst that is capable of converting acetaldehyde and a second aldehyde as acceptor into enantiomerically pure mono- and diyhydroxyaldehydes, which are important structural motifs in a number of pharmaceutically active compounds. Conjugation and immobilization renders the enzyme applicable for utilization in a continuously run biocatalytic process which avoids the common problem of product inhibition. Within this thesis, conjugates of DERA and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm) for immobilization via a self-assembly approach were synthesized and isolated, as well as conjugates with poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide) (PDMAA) for a simplified and scalable spray-coating approach. For the DERA/PNIPAm-conjugates different synthesis routes were tested, including grafting-from and grafting-to, both being common methods for the conjugation. Furthermore, both lysines and cysteines were addressed for the conjugation in order to find optimum conjugation conditions. It turned out that conjugation via lysine causes severe activity loss as one lysine plays a key role in the catalyzing mechanism. The conjugation via the cysteines by a grafting-to approach using pyridyl disulfide (PDS) end-group functionalized polymers led to high conjugation efficiencies in the presence of polymer solubilizing NaSCN. The resulting conjugates maintained enzymatic activity and also gained high acetaldehyde tolerance which is necessary for their use later on in an industrial relevant process after their immobilization. The resulting DERA/PNIPAm conjugates exhibited enhanced interfacial activity at the air/water interface compared to the single components, which is an important pre-requisite for the immobilization via the self-assembly approach. Conjugates with longer polymer chains formed homogeneous films on silicon wafers and glass slides while the ones with short chains could only form isolated aggregates. On top of that, long chain conjugates showed better activity maintenance upon the immobilization. The crosslinking of conjugates, as well as their fixation on the support materials, are important for the mechanical stability of the films obtained from the self-assembly process. Therefore, in a second step, we introduced the UV-crosslinkable monomer DMMIBA to the PNIPAm polymers to be used for conjugation. The introduction of DMMIBA reduced the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of the polymer and thus the water solubility at ambient conditions, resulting in lower conjugation efficiencies and in turn slightly poorer acetaldehyde tolerance of the resulting conjugates. Unlike the DERA/PNIPAm, the conjugates from the copolymer P(NIPAM-co-DMMIBA) formed continuous, homogenous films only after the crosslinking step via UV-treatment. For a firm binding of the crosslinked films, a functionalization protocol for the model support material cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) and the final target support, PAN based membranes, was developed that introduces analogue UV-reactive groups to the support surface. The conjugates immobilized on the modified COC films maintained enzymatic activity and showed good mechanical stability after several cycles of activity assessment. Conjugates with longer polymer chains, however, showed a higher degree of crosslinking after the UV-treatment leading to a pronounced loss of activity. A porous PAN membrane onto which the conjugates were immobilized as well, was finally transferred to a dead end filtration membrane module to catalyze the aldol reaction of the industrially relevant mixture of acetaldehyde and hexanal in a continuous mode. Mono aldol product was detectable, but yields were comparably low and the operational stability needs to be further improved Another approach towards immobilization of DERA conjugates that was followed, was to generate the conjugates in situ by simply mixing enzyme and polymer and spray coat the mixture onto the membrane support. Compared to the previous approach, the focus was more put on simplicity and a possible scalability of the immobilization. Conjugates were thus only generated in-situ and not further isolated and characterized. For the conjugation, PDMAA equipped with N-2-thiolactone acrylamide (TlaAm) side chains was used, an amine-reactive comonomer that can react with the lysine residues of DERA, as well as with amino groups introduced to a desired support surface. Furthermore disulfide formation after hydrolysis of the Tla groups causes a crosslinking effect. The synthesized copolymer poly(N,N-Dimethylacrylamide-co-N-2-thiolactone acrylamide) (P(DMAA-co-TlaAm)) thus serves a multiple purpose including protein binding, crosslinking and binding to support materials. The mixture of DERA and polymer could be immobilized on the PAN support by spray-coating under partial maintenance of enzymatic activity. To improve the acetaldehyde tolerance, the polymer in used was further equipped with cysteine reactive PDS end-groups that had been used for the conjugation as described in the first part of the thesis. The generated conjugates indeed showed good acetaldehyde tolerance and were thus used to be coated onto PAN membrane supports. Post treatment with a basic aqueous solution of H2O2 was supposed to further crosslink the spray-coated film hydrolysis and oxidation of the thiolactone groups. However, a washing off of the material was observed. Optimization is thus still necessary.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Noack2019,
  author    = {Noack, Sebastian},
  title     = {Poly(lactide)-based amphiphilic block copolymers},
  doi       = {10.25932/publishup-43616},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-436168},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {xvii, 148},
  year      = {2019},
  abstract  = {Due to its bioavailability and (bio)degradability, poly(lactide) (PLA) is an interesting polymer that is already being used as packaging material, surgical seam, and drug delivery system. Dependent on various parameters such as polymer composition, amphiphilicity, sample preparation, and the enantiomeric purity of lactide, PLA in an amphiphilic block copolymer can affect the self-assembly behavior dramatically. However, sizes and shapes of aggregates have a critical effect on the interactions between biological and drug delivery systems, where the general understanding of these polymers and their ability to influence self-assembly is of significant interest in science. The first part of this thesis describes the synthesis and study of a series of linear poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) and poly(D-lactide) (PDLA)-based amphiphilic block copolymers with varying PLA (hydrophobic), and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) (hydrophilic) chain lengths and different block copolymer sequences (PEG-PLA and PLA-PEG). The PEG-PLA block copolymers were synthesized by ring-opening polymerization of lactide initiated by a PEG-OH macroinitiator. In contrast, the PLA-PEG block copolymers were produced by a Steglich-esterification of modified PLA with PEG-OH. The aqueous self-assembly at room temperature of the enantiomerically pure PLLA-based block copolymers and their stereocomplexed mixtures was investigated by dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Spherical micelles and worm-like structures were produced, whereby the obtained self-assembled morphologies were affected by the lactide weight fraction in the block copolymer and self-assembly time. The formation of worm-like structures increases with decreasing PLA-chain length and arises from spherical micelles, which become colloidally unstable and undergo an epitaxial fusion with other micelles. As shown by DSC experiments, the crystallinity of the corresponding PLA blocks increases within the self-assembly time. However, the stereocomplexed self-assembled structures behave differently from the parent polymers and result in irregular-shaped clusters of spherical micelles. Additionally, time-dependent self-assembly experiments showed a transformation, from already self-assembled morphologies of different shapes to more compact micelles upon stereocomplexation. In the second part of this thesis, with the objective to influence the self-assembly of PLA-based block copolymers and its stereocomplexes, poly(methyl phosphonate) (PMeP) and poly(isopropyl phosphonate) (PiPrP) were produced by ring-opening polymerization to implement an alternative to the hydrophilic block PEG. Although, the 1,8 diazabicyclo[5.4.0]unde 7 ene (DBU) or 1,5,7 triazabicyclo[4.4.0]dec-5-ene (TBD) mediated synthesis of the corresponding poly(alkyl phosphonate)s was successful, however, not so the polymerization of copolymers with PLA-based precursors (PLA-homo polymers, and PEG-PLA block copolymers). Transesterification, obtained by 1H-NMR spectroscopy, between the poly(phosphonate)- and PLA block caused a high-field shifted peak split of the methine proton in the PLA polymer chain, with split intensities depending on the used catalyst (DBU for PMeP, and TBD for PiPrP polymerization). An additional prepared block copolymer PiPrP-PLLA that wasn't affected in its polymer sequence was finally used for self-assembly experiments with PLA-PEG and PEG-PLA mixing. This work provides a comprehensive study of the self-assembly behavior of PLA-based block copolymers influenced by various parameters such as polymer block lengths, self-assembly time, and stereocomplexation of block copolymer mixtures.},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Nizardo2018,
  author    = {Nizardo, Noverra Mardhatillah},
  title     = {Thermoresponsive block copolymers with UCST-behavior aimed at biomedical environments},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-412217},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam},
  pages     = {xiii, 134},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {Thermoresponsive block copolymers of presumably highly biocompatible character exhibiting upper critical solution temperature (UCST) type phase behavior were developed. In particular, these polymers were designed to exhibit UCST-type cloud points (Tcp) in physiological saline solution (9 g/L) within the physiologically interesting window of 30-50°C. Further, their use as carrier for controlled release purposes was explored. Polyzwitterion-based block copolymers were synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) via a macroinitiator approach with varied molar masses and co-monomer contents. These block copolymers can self-assemble in the amphiphilic state to form micelles, when the thermoresponsive block experiences a coil-to-globule transition upon cooling. Poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether (mPEG) was used as the permanently hydrophilic block to stabilize the colloids formed, and polyzwitterions as the thermoresponsive block to promote the temperature-triggered assembly-disassembly of the micellear aggregates at low temperature. Three zwitterionic monomers were used for this studies, namely 3-((2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl)dimethylammonio)propane-1-sulfonate (SPE), 4-((2-(methacryloyl- oxy)ethyl)dimethylammonio)butane-1-sulfonate (SBE), and 3-((2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl)- dimethylammonio)propane-1-sulfate) (ZPE). Their (co)polymers were characterized with respect to their molecular structure by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Their phase behaviors in pure water as well as in physiological saline were studied by turbidimetry and dynamic light scattering (DLS). These (co)polymers are thermoresponsive with UCST-type phase behavior in aqueous solution. Their phase transition temperatures depend strongly on the molar masses and the incorporation of co-monomers: phase transition temperatures increased with increasing molar masses and content of poorly water-soluble co-monomer. In addition, the presence of salt influenced the phase transition dramatically. The phase transition temperature decreased with increasing salt content in the solution. While the PSPE homopolymers show a phase transition only in pure water, the PZPE homopolymers are able to exhibit a phase transition only in high salinity, as in physiological saline. Although both polyzwitterions have similar chemical structures that differ only in the anionic group (sulfonate group in SPE and sulfate group in ZPE), the water solubility is very different. Therefore, the phase transition temperatures of targeted block copolymers were modulated by using statistical copolymer of SPE and ZPE as thermoresponsive block, and varying the ratio of SPE to ZPE. Indeed, the statistical copolymers of P(SPE-co-ZPE) show phase transitions both in pure water as well as in physiological saline. Surprisingly, it was found that mPEG-b-PSBE block copolymer can display "schizophrenic" behavior in pure water, with the UCST-type cloud point occurring at lower temperature than the LCST-type one. The block copolymer, which satisfied best the boundary conditions, is block copolymer mPEG114-b-P(SPE43-co-ZPE39) with a cloud point of 45°C in physiological saline. Therefore, it was chosen for solubilization studies of several solvatochromic dyes as models of active agents, using the thermoresponsive block copolymer as "smart" carrier. The uptake and release of the dyes were explored by UV-Vis and fluorescence spectroscopy, following the shift of the wavelength of the absorbance or emission maxima at low and high temperature. These are representative for the loaded and released state, respectively. However, no UCST-transition triggered uptake and release of these dyes could be observed. Possibly, the poor affinity of the polybetaines to the dyes in aqueous environtments may be related to the widely reported antifouling properties of zwitterionic polymers.},
  language  = {en}
}