Polymer Chemistry Blog

Jeroen Cornelissen and co-workers at Radboud University Nijmegen and the University of Twente created a series of thermoresponsive giant biohybrid amphiphiles.

The polymer component was a random copolymer of ethylene glycol methyl ether acrylate and methoxy ethoxy ethyl acrylate formed by atom transfer radical polymerisation.  The team linked the hydrophobic polymer to enhanced green fluorescent protein using a copper-catalysed azide–alkyne cycloaddition. Slow heating allows the giant amphiphiles to self-assemble into spherical micelles with a diameter of approximately 60 nm.

Interested to know more? Read the full article for free here: Christine Lavigueur, Jordi González García, Linda Hendriks, Richard Hoogenboom, Jeroen J. L. M. Cornelissen and Roeland J. M. Nolte, Polym. Chem., 2011, DOI:10.1039/C0PY00229A

In the latest Polymer Chemistry Hot Article, Cathrin Corten and Marek Urban at the University of Southern Mississippi, USA, investigate the evolution of shape in colloidal particles. In the paper they study colloidal nanoparticle made from two phase-separated copolymers poly(methylmethacrylate) (p-MMA)/n-butylacrylate (nBA) and poly(nBA)/pentafluorostyrene (p-PFS).

These studies show for the first time that the synthesis of two distinct phase-separated copolymers within one colloidal nanoparticle allows control of the nanoparticle morphology by compositional and interfacial adjustments.

Interested to know more? Why not read the full article for free here: Cathrin C. Corten and Marek W. Urban, Polym. Chem., 2011, DOI:10.1039/C0PY00220H

The hollow structure of cyclodextrins makes them promising hosts for drugs. By attaching polymers to the cyclodextrin ring scientists can create new materials to use as drug delivery systems. One advantage of attaching the polymer is that it allows the delivery properties to be tailored by modifying the polymer as well as the cyclodextrin host.

The review by Jiawen Zhou and Helmut Ritter, Heinrich-Heine University of Düsseldorf, Germany, focuses on the recent advances made with cyclodextrins in polymer chemistry and their applications in drug delivery systems. They discuss the opportunities for using click reactions to covalently attached polymer chains to cyclodextrins, and other examples for functionalizing cyclodextrin.

Fancy knowing more? Read the article for free here:

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Scientists have made giant surfactants that form globular micelles in water and can spread to worm-like structures on surfaces. The surfactants are formed from amphiphilic block copolymers and synthesised by combining RAFT and ATRP techniques.

In aqueous solution, the polymers aggregate into globular micellar aggregates, their size being determined by the length of the stretched polymer molecules. For the dual brush copolymer, a rather compact structure is formed, which is dominated by the large hydrophobic poly(n-butyl acrylate) block. On mica surfaces the triblock copolymers adsorb with worm-like backbones and stretched out side chains.

Read the full article for free here:
Daniel Zehm, André Laschewsky, Peggy Heunemann, Michael Gradzielski, Sylvain Prévost, Hua Liang, Jürgen P. Rabe and Jean-François Lutz, Polym. Chem., 2011, DOI:10.1039/C0PY00200C

Oren Scherman and co-workers at the University of Cambridge, UK, have used diffusion NMR and solution viscometry to probe cucurbituril-mediated host–guest polymer self assembly. The polymer studied was a 5-component supramolecular ABA triblock copolymer in aqueous solution.

The team showed the utility of DOSY NMR for probing the multi-component assembly of supramolecular block copolymers formed through host–guest chemistry. The NMR approach offers a non-invasive, and in situ method to visualise the multi-component assembly process.

Fancy knowing more? Read the article for free here:

Wen-Ming Wan and Cai-Yuan Pan have developed a strategy for preparing multiple nanostructural materials. The method creates the materials directly from controlled radical dispersion polymerization and polymerization-induced self-assembling and re-organization in one pot. Various morphologies including spherical micelles, nanowires, tubes, vesicles, large compound vesicles etc. can be prepared directly in this way.

Download the paper here to read the full method and experimental details.