Switching the Morphologies of Cylindrical Polycation Brushes by Ionic and Supramolecular Inclusion Complexes

Cylindrical polycation brushes form an ionic complex with surfactant sodium dodecyl. sulfate (SDS) in aqueous solution, which causes a worm-to-sphere collapse of the brush. alpha- and beta-Cyclodextrin (CD) returns the brush to the worm-like conformation by forming a supramolecular inclusion complex with SDS. When beta-CD was employed for the inclusion complex, addition of 1-adamantylammonium chloride releases SDS by forming a stronger inclusion complex, causing the recollapse of the brush to spheres.