Morphological Control of Poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(ε-caprolactone) Copolymer Aggregates in Aqueous Solution

In aqueous solution, it was found that the amphiphilic copolymer poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(caprolactone) (PEG5000-b-PCL4100) formed different morphologies, including long rod-like, short rod-like, or spherical aggregates, when the copolymer concentration was increased. Nearly identical morphologi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biomacromolecules 2008-09, Vol.9 (9), p.2283-2291
Main Authors: Fairley, Nichole, Hoang, Bryan, Allen, Christine
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Calorimetry, Differential Scanning
Ethylene Glycols - chemical synthesis
Ethylene Glycols - chemistry
Exact sciences and technology
Micelles
Molecular Weight
Organic polymers
Particle Size
Physicochemistry of polymers
Polyesters - chemical synthesis
Polyesters - chemistry
Properties and characterization
Solution and gel properties
Solutions
Surface Properties
Temperature
Thermodynamics
Water - chemistry
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In aqueous solution, it was found that the amphiphilic copolymer poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(caprolactone) (PEG5000-b-PCL4100) formed different morphologies, including long rod-like, short rod-like, or spherical aggregates, when the copolymer concentration was increased. Nearly identical morphologies were observed with the addition of increasing amounts of PEG2000-distearoylphosphoethanolamine (PEG2000-DSPE) to the copolymer. The morphologies of the aggregates in solution were confirmed by negative stain transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and cryogenic-TEM (cryo-TEM). The critical micelle concentrations of the PEG5000-b-PCL4100 copolymer, PEG2000-DSPE and a mixture of the two materials (PEG5000-b-PCL4100/PEG2000-DSPE) were evaluated to determine the thermodynamic stability of the aggregates. Differential scanning calorimetry was performed to gain insight into the degree of mixing of PEG5000-b-PCL4100 and PEG2000-DSPE. Overall, combining PEG5000-b-PCL4100 and PEG2000-DSPE produced a single population of mixed micelles with rod-like or spherical morphologies depending on the material composition and concentration.
ISSN:1525-7797
1526-4602
DOI:10.1021/bm800572p