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Water-soluble, amphiphilic diblock copolymers were synthesized by reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer polymerization. They consist of poly(butyl acrylate) as hydrophobic block with a low glass transition temperature and three different nonionic water-soluble blocks, namely, the classical hydrophilic block poly(dimethylacrylamide), the strongly hydrophilic poly(acryloyloxyethyl methylsulfoxide), and the thermally sensitive poly(N-acryloylpyrrolidine). Aqueous micellar solutions of the block copolymers were prepared and characterized by static and dynamic light scattering analysis (DLS and SLS). No critical micelle concentration could be detected. The micellization was thermodynamically favored, although kinetically slow, exhibiting a marked dependence on the preparation conditions. The polymers formed micelles with a hydrodynamic diameter from 20 to 100 nm, which were stable upon dilution. The micellar size was correlated with the composition of the block copolymers and their overall molar mass. The micelles formed with the two most hydrophilic blocks were particularly stable upon temperature cycles, whereas the thermally sensitive poly(N-acryloylpyrrolidine) block showed a temperature-induced precipitation. According to combined SLS and DLS analysis, the micelles exhibited an elongated shape such as rods or worms. It should be noted that the block copolymers with the most hydrophilic poly(sulfoxide) block formed inverse micelles in certain organic solvents.
The fabrication of compartmented micellar systems is an exciting new area of research in the field of polymer self-assembly. Multicompartment micelles composed of a water-soluble shell and a segregated hydrophobic core can be obtained via direct aqueous self-assembly of preformed polymeric amphiphiles possessing one hydrophilic segment and two incompatible hydrophobic segments (e.g. hydrocarbon and fluorocarbon blocks). Such macromolecular building-blocks were prepared in the present work principally via reversible addition-fragmentation transfer polymerization (RAFT). Polysoaps or triblock macrosurfactants can be synthesized in high yields by RAFT under relatively straightforward experimental conditions.
Nonionic-zwitterionic diblock copolymers are designed to feature a coil-to-globule collapse transition with an upper critical solution temperature (UCST) in aqueous media, including physiological saline solution. The block copolymers that combine presumably highly biocompatible blocks are synthesized by chain extension of a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) macroinitiator via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of sulfobetaine and sulfabetaine methacrylates. Their thermoresponsive behavior is studied by variable temperature turbidimetry and H-1 NMR spectroscopy. While the polymers with polysulfobetaine blocks exhibit phase transitions in the physiologically interesting window of 30-50 degrees C only in pure aqueous solution, the polymers bearing polysulfabetaine blocks enabled phase transitions only in physiological saline solution. By copolymerizing a pair of structurally closely related sulfo-and sulfabetaine monomers, thermoresponsive behavior can be implemented in aqueous solutions of both low and high salinity. Surprisingly, the presence of the PEG blocks can affect the UCST-transitions of the polyzwitterions notably. In specific cases, this results in "schizophrenic" thermoresponsive behavior displaying simultaneously an UCST and an LCST (lower critical solution temperature) transition. Exploratory experiments on the UCST-transition triggered the encapsulation and release of various solvatochromic fluorescent dyes as model "cargos" failed, apparently due to the poor affinity even of charged organic compounds to the collapsed state of the polyzwitterions.
The hydrolytic stability of polymers to be used for coatings in aqueous environments, for example, to confer anti-fouling properties, is crucial. However, long-term exposure studies on such polymers are virtually missing. In this context, we synthesized a set of nine polymers that are typically used for low-fouling coatings, comprising the well-established poly(oligoethylene glycol methylether methacrylate), poly(3-(N-2-methacryloylethyl-N,N-dimethyl) ammoniopropanesulfonate) (sulfobetaine methacrylate), and poly(3-(N-3-methacryamidopropyl-N,N-dimethyl)ammoniopropanesulfonate) (sulfobetaine methacrylamide) as well as a series of hitherto rarely studied polysulfabetaines, which had been suggested to be particularly hydrolysis-stable. Hydrolysis resistance upon extended storage in aqueous solution is followed by H-1 NMR at ambient temperature in various pH regimes. Whereas the monomers suffered slow (in PBS) to very fast hydrolysis (in 1 M NaOH), the polymers, including the polymethacrylates, proved to be highly stable. No degradation of the carboxyl ester or amide was observed after one year in PBS, 1 M HCl, or in sodium carbonate buffer of pH 10. This demonstrates their basic suitability for anti-fouling applications. Poly(sulfobetaine methacrylamide) proved even to be stable for one year in 1 M NaOH without any signs of degradation. The stability is ascribed to a steric shielding effect. The hemisulfate group in the polysulfabetaines, however, was found to be partially labile.
Responsive inverse opal hydrogels functionalized by boroxole moieties were synthesized and explored as sensor platforms for various low molar mass as well as polymeric diols and polyols, including saccharides, glycopolymers and catechols, by exploiting the diol induced modulation of their structural color. The underlying thermoresponsive water-soluble copolymers and hydrogels exhibit a coil-to-globule or volume phase transition, respectively, of the LCST-type. They were prepared from oligoethylene oxide methacrylate (macro)monomers and functionalized via copolymerization to bear benzoboroxole moieties. The resulting copolymers represent weak polyacids, which can bind specifically to diols within an appropriate pH window. Due to the resulting modulation of the overall hydrophilicity of the systems and the consequent shift of their phase transition temperature, the usefulness of such systems for indicating the presence of catechols, saccharides, and glycopolymers was studied, exploiting the diol/polyol induced shifts of the soluble polymers’ cloud point, or the induced changes of the hydrogels’ swelling. In particular, the increased acidity of benzoboroxoles compared to standard phenylboronic acids allowed performing the studies in PBS buffer (phosphate buffered saline) at the physiologically relevant pH of 7.4. The inverse opals constructed of these thermo- and analyte-responsive hydrogels enabled following the binding of specific diols by the induced shift of the optical stop band. Their highly porous structure enabled the facile and specific optical detection of not only low molar mass but also of high molar mass diol/polyol analytes such as glycopolymers. Accordingly, such thermoresponsive inverse opal systems functionalized with recognition units represent attractive and promising platforms for the facile sensing of even rather big analytes by simple optical means, or even by the bare eye.
Polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) with stratification of the internal structure were assembled from statistical amphiphilic copolyelectrolytes of opposite charges. These polyelectrolytes organize in aqueous solutions into micellar structures with fluoroalkyl and aromatic nanodomains, respectively, that were also preserved after deposition as thin films via layer-by-layer (LbL) electrostatic self-assembly. The unimolecular micelles, formed due to statistical compositions of amphiphilic polyelectrolytes used, were shown to suppress chain interdiffusion between adjacent layers in resulting micellar PEMs, as evidenced by spectroscopic ellipsometry, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and neutron reflectometry (NR) measurements. Additionally, hydrophobic cores of the micelles were used as hosts for photoactive molecules, namely, ferrocene and perfluorinated magnesium phthalocyanine. Stratified micellar multilayers were then deposited as hollow capsules using CaCO3 microparticles as templates. Photoinduced electron transfer (PET) between ferrocene and phthalocyanine solubilized in the polymer micelles was demonstrated to occur efficiently inside the stratified, polyelectrolyte walls of the capsules, due to the polarity gradient created by the incompatible aromatic and fluoroalkyl domains. The obtained results present a new approach to construct well-organized, self-assembled nanostructured materials for solar energy conversion.
A series of hydrophobically end-capped linear triblock copolymers as well as of three-arm and four-arm star block copolymers was synthesized in a one-pot procedure from N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMA) and N, N-diethylacrylamide (DEA). The sequential reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization of these monomers via the R-approach using bi-, tri- and tetrafunctional chain transfer agents (CrAs) bearing hydrophobic dodecyl moieties proceeded in a well-controlled manner up to almost quantitative conversion. Polymers with molar masses up to 150 kDa, narrow molar mass distribution (PDI <= 1.3) and high end group functionality were obtained, which are thermoresponsive in aqueous solution showing a LCST (lower critical solution temperature) transition. The temperature-dependent associative behavior of the polymers was examined using turbidimetry, static and dynamic light scattering (SLS, DLS), and small angle neutron scattering (SANS) for structural analysis. At 25 degrees C, the polymers form weak transient networks, and rather small hydrophobic domains are already present for polymer concentrations of 5 wt%. However, when heating above the LCST transition (35-40 degrees C) of the PDEA blocks, the enhanced formation of hydrophobic domains is observed by means of light and neutron scattering. These domains have a size of about 12-15 nm and must be effectively physically cross-linked as they induce high viscosity for the more concentrated samples. SANS shows that these domains are ordered as evidenced by the appearance of a correlation peak. The copolymer architecture affects in particular the extent of ordering as the four-arm star block copolymer shows much more repulsive interactions compared to the analogous copolymers with a lower number of arms. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The authors report on the fabrication of a thermoresponsive biosensor for the amperometric detection of glucose. Screen printed electrodes with heatable gold working electrodes were modified by a thermoresponsive statistical copolymer [polymer I: poly(omega-ethoxytriethylenglycol methacrylate-omega-3-(N,N-dimethyl-N-2-methacryloyloxyethyl ammonio) propanesulfonate-co-omega-butoxydiethylenglycol methacrylate-co-2-(4-benzoyl-phenoxy)ethyl methacrylate)] with a lower critical solution temperature of around 28 degrees C in aqueous solution via electrochemically induced codeposition with a pH-responsive redox-polymer [polymer II: poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-allyl methacrylate-co-poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate-co-butyl acrylate-co-2-(dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate)-[Os(bpy)(2)(4-(((2-(2-(2-aminoethoxy) ethoxy) ethyl) amino) methyl)-N,N-dimethylpicolinamide)](2+)] and pyrroloquinoline quinone-soluble glucose dehydrogenase acting as biological recognition element. Polymer II bears covalently bound Os-complexes that act as redox mediators for shuttling electrons between the enzyme and the electrode surface. Polymer I acts as a temperature triggered immobilization matrix. Probing the catalytic current as a function of the working electrode temperature shows that the activity of the biosensor is dramatically reduced above the phase transition temperature of polymer I. Thus, the local modulation of the temperature at the interphase between the electrode and the bioactive layer allows switching the biosensor from an on-to an off-state without heating of the surrounding analyte solution. (C) 2015 American Vacuum Society.
Complementary to the well-established zwitterionic monomer 3-((3-methacrylamidopropyl) dimethylammonio) propane-1-sulfonate (SPP), the closely related monomers 2-hydroxy-3-((3-methacrylamidopropyl) dimethylammonio) propane-1-sulfonate (SHPP) and 4-((3-methacrylamidopropyl) dimethylammonio)butane- 1-sulfonate (SBP) were synthesised and polymerised by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerisation, using a fluorophore labeled RAFT agent. The polyzwitterions of systematically varied molar masses were characterised with respect to their solubility in water and aqueous salt solutions. Both poly(sulfobetaine)s show thermoresponsive behaviour in water, exhibiting phase separation at low temperatures and upper critical solution temperatures (UCST). For both polySHPP and polySBP, cloud points depend notably on the molar mass, and are much higher in D2O than in H2O. Also, the cloud points are effectively modulated by the addition of salts. The individual effects can be in parts correlated to the Hofmeister series for the anions studied. Still, they depend in a complex way on the concentration and the nature of the added electrolytes, on the one hand, and on the detailed nature of the spacer group separating the anionic and the cationic charges of the betaine moiety, on the other hand. As anticipated, the cloud points of polySBP are much higher than the ones of the analogous polySPP of identical molar mass. Surprisingly, the cloud points of polySHPP are also somewhat higher than the ones of their polySPP analogues, despite the additional hydrophilic hydroxyl group present in the spacer separating the ammonium and the sulfonate moieties. These findings point to a complicated interplay of the various hydrophilic components in polyzwitterions with respect to their overall hydrophilicity. Thus, the spacer group in the betaine moiety proves to be an effective additional molecular design parameter, apparently small variations of which strongly influence the phase behaviour of the polyzwitterions in specific aqueous environments.
Poly(N,N-bis(2-methoxyethyl)acrylamide) (PbMOEAm) featuring two classical chemical motifs from non-ionic water-soluble polymers, namely, the amide and ethyleneglycolether moieties, was synthesized by reversible addition fragmentation transfer (RAFT) polymerization. This tertiary polyacrylamide is thermoresponsive exhibiting a lower critical solution temperature (LCST)-type phase transition. A series of homo- and block copolymers with varying molar masses but low dispersities and different end groups were prepared. Their thermoresponsive behavior in aqueous solution was analyzed via turbidimetry and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The cloud points (CP) increased with increasing molar masses, converging to 46 degrees C for 1 wt% solutions. This rise is attributed to the polymers' hydrophobic end groups incorporated via the RAFT agents. When a surfactant-like strongly hydrophobic end group was attached using a functional RAFT agent, CP was lowered to 42 degrees C, i.e., closer to human body temperature. Also, the effect of added salts, in particular, the role of the Hofmeister series, on the phase transition of PbMOEAm was investigated, exemplified for the kosmotropic fluoride, intermediate chloride, and chaotropic thiocyanate anions. A pronounced shift of the cloud point of about 10 degrees C to lower or higher temperatures was observed for 0.2 M fluoride and thiocyanate, respectively. When PbMOEAm was attached to a long hydrophilic block of poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide) (PDMAm), the cloud points of these block copolymers were strongly shifted towards higher temperatures. While no phase transition was observed for PDMAm-b-pbMOEAm with short thermoresponsive blocks, block copolymers with about equally sized PbMOEAm and PDMAm blocks underwent the coil-to-globule transition around 60 degrees C.