Self-Assembly Of Amphiphilic Aba Random Triblock Copolymers In Water

Self-assembly of amphiphilic ABA random triblock copolymers in water serves as a novel approach to create unique structure micelles connected with flexible linkages. The ABA triblock copolymers consist of amphiphilic random copolymers bearing hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) and hydrophobic dodecyl pendants as the A segments and a hydrophilic poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) as the middle B segment. The A block is varied in dodecyl methacrylate content of 20%-50% and degree of polymerization (DP) of 100-200. By controlling the composition and DP of the A block, various architectures can be tailor-made as micelles in water: PEO-linked double core unimer micelles, PEO-looped unimer or dimer micelles, and multichain micelles. Those PEO-linked or looped micelles further exhibit thermoresponsive solubility in water. (c) 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019, 57, 313-321