Abstract
We introduce a novel synthetic strategy in which high molecular weight comb copolymers with aliphatic side chains can collapse into single-chain nanoparticles (SNCPs) via photodimerization of anthracene under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. By deliberately selecting hydrophobic comonomers with disparate solvency, we demonstrated that we could control chain collapse. We attribute these results to the formation of pseudo-unimicellar structures, whereby polyisobutylene (PIB) side chains are preferentially solvated, thereby compressing anthracene moieties to form a denser crosslinked core. The control of hydrophobic interactions is a common occurrence in proteins and we believe that our approach can be further extended to achieve multi-compartment SCNPs whereby each section is responsible for a given function.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 292-297 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Polymer Chemistry |
Volume | 11 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 14 2020 |
Externally published | Yes |
Funding
C. H. L. acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation Research Trainee (NSF NRT) Program Award #1449999. The authors acknowledge support from the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund (ACS PRF) grant #57957. This material is based on work in part supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. (1757220). The authors would like to acknowledge the help of Eric R. King and Dr. Dwaine Braasch for their assistance in running the UV-vis instrumentation.