Upper Critical Solution Temperature Switchable Micelles Based on Polystyrene-block-poly(methyl acrylate) Block Copolymers

The solubility behavior of well-defined poly(methyl acrylate) homopolymers as well as polystyrene-block-poly (methylacrylate) block copolymers is discussed in this contribution. A solubility screening in ethanol-water solvent mixtures was performed in a high-throughput manner using parallel turbidimetry revealing upper critical solution temperature behavior for poly(methyl acrylate). Moreover, the self-assembly behavior of the block copolymers into micellar structures was investigated by dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and cryo-TEM revealing upper critical solution temperature switchability of the micelles, which was evaluated by DLS at different temperatures. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 49: 3681-3687, 2011