Engineering of ion permeable planar membranes and polymersomes based on p-cyclodextrin-cored star copolymers

For polymersome-based nanoreactor purposes, we herein present the synthesis and characterization of well-defined star amphiphilic copolymers composed of a beta-cyclodextrin (pCD) core and seven poly (butylene oxide)-block-polyglycidol (PBO-PGL) arms per side (pCD-(PBO-PGL)14). The self-assembly behavior of 14-armed pCD-(PBO-PGL)14 and PGL-PBO-PGL (linear analogues without the pCD segment) was investigated using scattering techniques for comparison. The morphologies, including vesicles and micelles, are governed by the hydrophobic-to-hydrophilic (weight) ratio, regardless of the polymer archi-tecture (linear or star). Interestingly, despite notable differences in polymer conformation, the produced supramolecular structures were evidenced to be fairly similar on the structural point of view. We subse-quently investigated the ion permeability of the membranes of the self-assemblies focusing on the impact of the presence of pCD. The results demonstrated that the pCD-containing vesicular membranes are less permeable to H., compared with pCD-free vesicular membranes. The presence of pCD in planar membranes also influences the K.Cl- permeability to some extent. Thus, pCD-containing membranes can be considered as potential candidates in designing nano-containers towards applications where precise changes in environmental pH are required. (c) 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this study, star amphiphilic copolymers with a beta-cyclodextrin (pCD) core and seven poly (butylene oxide)-block-polyglycidol (PBO-PGL) arms per side were synthesized and characterized for polymersome-based nanoreactor purposes. The self-assembly behavior and ion permeability of the membranes were investigated. The results showed that the morphology of the self-assemblies was determined by the hydrophobic-to-hydrophilic ratio, and the pCD-containing membranes exhibited lower permeability to H. and influenced the K.Cl- permeability.