TY - JOUR
T1 - Multicompartment Nanoparticles Bearing Hydrophilic/Hydrophobic Subdomains by Self-Assembly of Star Polymers in Aqueous Solution
AU - Huo, Haohui
AU - Liu, Jie
AU - Kannan, Senthil
AU - Chen, Long
AU - Zhao, Yimin
AU - Zhang, Lei
AU - Chang, Gang
AU - Zhang, Qilu
AU - Liu, Feng
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 American Chemical Society.
PY - 2021/1/12
Y1 - 2021/1/12
N2 - The direct construction of protein-like multicompartment nanoparticles (MCNs) possessing hydrophilic/hydrophobic subdomains is a contemporary challenge. Herein, we present the first example of such MCNs via self-assembly of the specially designed A(BC)20 star polymer in an aqueous solution. The topology of the 21-arm star polymer, poly(ethylene glycol)[poly(acrylic acid)-block-polystyrene]20 [PEG(PAA-b-PS)20], is the key to simultaneously form hydrophilic/hydrophobic subdomains of nanoparticles during self-assembling, as the water-soluble PAA blocks are confined in the core, resulting in hydrophilic subdomains. The volume ratio of PS to PAA (VPS/VPAA) is found to be the main factor that determines the morphology of MCNs; besides micelles and vesicles, strings consisting of one-dimensional (1D) alignment of single-star polymers were found for the first time, as confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and cryo-TEM. Lastly, a new mechanism for the assembly of the star polymers was proposed based on the investigations of PEG(PAA-b-PS)20 self-assembly under different water contents, concentrations, and pH values. The MCNs reported in this work may find various applications in, e.g., co-delivery of drugs and heterogeneous catalysis.
AB - The direct construction of protein-like multicompartment nanoparticles (MCNs) possessing hydrophilic/hydrophobic subdomains is a contemporary challenge. Herein, we present the first example of such MCNs via self-assembly of the specially designed A(BC)20 star polymer in an aqueous solution. The topology of the 21-arm star polymer, poly(ethylene glycol)[poly(acrylic acid)-block-polystyrene]20 [PEG(PAA-b-PS)20], is the key to simultaneously form hydrophilic/hydrophobic subdomains of nanoparticles during self-assembling, as the water-soluble PAA blocks are confined in the core, resulting in hydrophilic subdomains. The volume ratio of PS to PAA (VPS/VPAA) is found to be the main factor that determines the morphology of MCNs; besides micelles and vesicles, strings consisting of one-dimensional (1D) alignment of single-star polymers were found for the first time, as confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and cryo-TEM. Lastly, a new mechanism for the assembly of the star polymers was proposed based on the investigations of PEG(PAA-b-PS)20 self-assembly under different water contents, concentrations, and pH values. The MCNs reported in this work may find various applications in, e.g., co-delivery of drugs and heterogeneous catalysis.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85098785728
U2 - 10.1021/acs.macromol.0c02213
DO - 10.1021/acs.macromol.0c02213
M3 - 文章
AN - SCOPUS:85098785728
SN - 0024-9297
VL - 54
SP - 35
EP - 43
JO - Macromolecules
JF - Macromolecules
IS - 1
ER -