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α‐cyclodextrin assisted self‐assembly of poly(ethylene glycol)‐block‐poly( N ‐isopropylacrylamide) in aqueous media
Author(s) -
Yuen Fanny,
Tam Kam Chiu
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.38072
Subject(s) - lower critical solution temperature , ethylene glycol , poly(n isopropylacrylamide) , atom transfer radical polymerization , polymer chemistry , copolymer , peg ratio , aqueous solution , cyclodextrin , materials science , polymerization , radical polymerization , chemistry , chemical engineering , polymer , organic chemistry , composite material , finance , economics , engineering
Poly(ethylene glycol)‐block‐poly( N ‐isopropylacrylamide) (PEG ‐b‐ PNIPAM) block copolymers were synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization, and the α‐cyclodextrin (α‐CD) induced self‐assembly characteristics of the system were elucidated. Below the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of PNIPAM, CD threaded onto the PEG segments and induced micellization to form rod‐shaped nanostructures comprising of a PEG/α‐CD condensed phase and a PNIPAM shell. Increasing the temperature of system above the LCST caused the PNIPAM segments to collapse, which resulted in the dethreading of the CD. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013