Journal
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
Volume 56, Issue 51, Pages 16357-16362Publisher
WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201709564
Keywords
dithiolane crosslinking; micelle aggregation; nanocubes; self-assembly; triblock copolymers
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Funding
- National Science Foundation [DMR-1407658, ECCS-1542152]
- Stanford Center of Molecular Analysis and Design
- U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences [DE-AC02-76SF00515]
- Direct For Mathematical & Physical Scien
- Division Of Materials Research [1407658] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Template-free fabrication of non-spherical polymeric nanoparticles is desirable for various applications, but has had limited success owing to thermodynamic favorability of sphere formation. Herein we present a simple way to prepare cubic nanoparticles of block copolymers by self-assembly from aqueous solutions at room temperature. Nanocubes with edges of 40-200 nm are formed spontaneously on different surfaces upon water evaporation from micellar solutions of triblock copolymers containing a central poly(ethylene oxide) block and terminal trimethylene carbonate/dithiolane blocks. These polymers self-assemble into 28 +/- 5 nmmicelles in water. Upon drying, micelle aggregation and a kinetically controlled crystallization of central blocks evidently induce solid cubic particle formation. An approach for preserving the structures of these cubes in water by thiol-or photo-induced crosslinking was developed. The ability to solubilize a model hydrophobic drug, curcumin, was also explored.
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