Issue 6, 2018

Synthesis and pH-responsive dissociation of framboidal ABC triblock copolymer vesicles in aqueous solution

Abstract

A series of pH-responsive all-methacrylic ABC triblock copolymer vesicles were prepared from precursor diblock copolymer vesicles via RAFT seeded emulsion polymerisation. Microphase separation between the two hydrophobic membrane-forming B and C blocks produced a distinctive framboidal morphology, for which the mean globule size can be tuned by adjusting the triblock copolymer composition. These vesicles remain intact at neutral pH, but undergo irreversible dissociation on addition of acid as a result of protonation of the tertiary amine groups located within the third block. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) was utilised to characterise the morphologies formed at pH 8 and pH 3. According to time-resolved SAXS studies, the acid-induced dissociation of these pH-responsive framboidal vesicles involves appreciable membrane swelling within 50 ms and is complete.

Graphical abstract: Synthesis and pH-responsive dissociation of framboidal ABC triblock copolymer vesicles in aqueous solution

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
06 Nov 2017
Accepted
12 Dec 2017
First published
13 Dec 2017
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2018,9, 1454-1463

Synthesis and pH-responsive dissociation of framboidal ABC triblock copolymer vesicles in aqueous solution

C. J. Mable, L. A. Fielding, M. J. Derry, O. O. Mykhaylyk, P. Chambon and S. P. Armes, Chem. Sci., 2018, 9, 1454 DOI: 10.1039/C7SC04788F

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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