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Anionic Polymerization of an Amphiphilic Copolymer for Preparation of Block Copolymer Micelles Stabilized by π-π Stacking Interactions
Published on: October 10, 2016
Amphiphilic block copolymers based on poly(2-acryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) prepared via RAFT polymerisation as
Martina H Stenzel1, Christopher Barner-Kowollik, Thomas P Davis
1Centre for Advanced Macromolecular Design, School of Chemical Engineering and Industrial Chemistry, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia. camd@unsw.edu.au
Abstract:
Amphiphilic block copolymers composed of poly(butyl acrylate) and poly(2-acryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) have been prepared using reversible addition fragmentation transfer (RAFT) polymerisation. The conversion of the polymerisation was determined using online FT NIR spectroscopy. NMR spectroscopy was used not only to support the results obtained from FT NIR spectroscopy but also prove the formation of micelles. Due to the strong aggregation tendency of these block copolymers and the resulting difficulties concerning the molecular weight analysis test experiments were carried out replacing poly(2-acryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) with poly(2-hydroxyethyl acrylate). Micelle size and the aggregation behaviour were investigated using dynamic light scattering. The sizes of the nanocontainers obtained were found to be influenced by the block length as well as the solvent leading to micelles in the range between 40 and 160 nm. The toxicity of the RAFT agent used was then analysed by cell growth inhibition tests.
