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Molecular Recognition Induced Self‐Assembly of Diblock Copolymers: Microspheres to Vesicles
Author(s) -
Uzun Oktay,
Sanyal Amitav,
Jeong Youngdo,
Rotello Vincent M.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
macromolecular bioscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.924
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1616-5195
pISSN - 1616-5187
DOI - 10.1002/mabi.200900455
Subject(s) - copolymer , self assembly , microsphere , polymer chemistry , covalent bond , materials science , molecular recognition , vesicle , morphology (biology) , chemical engineering , chemistry , nanotechnology , polymer , molecule , composite material , membrane , organic chemistry , biochemistry , biology , engineering , genetics
Random diblock copolymer scaffolds grafted with diamidopyridine (DAP) hydrogen bonding recognition units self‐assembled to furnish microspheres when mixed with monoblock copolymers decorated with complementary recognition elements. Through choice of block length, microspheres of various sizes could be produced. The relative length of the two blocks plays a crucial role in determining the formation of aggregates. PEG‐ b ‐P(S‐ co ‐S DAP ) diblock copolymer was used to fabricate recognition induced pegylated microspheres, by non‐covalent crosslinking with monoblock copolymer functionalized with complementary thymine (Thy) units. These self‐assembled microspheres can be efficiently crosslinked via photochemical [2 π s + 2 π s ] cycloaddition with the resultant morphology change into vesicular structures.