Compartmentalization of an ABC triblock copolymer single-chain nanoparticle via coordination-driven orthogonal self-assembly
Zhigang Cui, Hui Cao, Yi Ding, Pan Gao, Xinhua Lu and Yuanli Cai *（蔡远利）
State-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Polymer Design and Application, Suzhou Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Design and Precision Synthesis, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China.
Polym. Chem., 2017, 8, 3755--3763
Herein, we present supramolecular compartmentalization of an ABC triblock copolymer single-chain nanoparticle (SCNP) using coordination-driven orthogonal intramolecular self-assembly in aqueous solution. A well-defined ABC-type triblock copolymer was synthesizedviavisible-light-mediated RAFT aqueous sequential block copolymerization. It possesses protonated imidazolium-motifs in the A-, NH3+-motifs in C-, and hydroxyl-motifs in B-block. Coordination-driven orthogonal self-assembly locally occurring upon deprotonation (A-block within pH 3.3–4.4 and C-block within pH 5.3–6.4) has been evidenced by UV-vis spectroscopy,1H NMR, dynamic light scattering (DLS), NMR diffusion-ordered spectroscopy (DOSY), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). A blank regime of pH 4.4–5.3 guarantees locally orthogonal intramolecular self-assembly without mutual interference. Dialysis and pH-cycling results illustrate that the inherent different subdomains are discrete and can individually respond to an external stimulus, with potential biomimetic functions in terms of sub-10 nm ultrafine internal heterogeneity.
链接：http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2017/py/c7py00582b#!divAbstract