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Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Synthesis of Monodisperse Cylindrical Nanoparticles via Crystallization-driven Self-assembly of Biodegradable Block Copolymers
Published on: June 20, 2019
Alpha-cyclodextrin-induced self-assembly of a double-hydrophilic block copolymer in aqueous solution
Jianhong Liu1, Herriyanto R Sondjaja, Kam C Tam
1Singapore-MIT Alliance, and School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore.
Abstract:
Double-hydrophilic poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(acrylic acid) (PEO-b-PAA) self-assembled into nanostructures in basic solution upon the addition of alpha-cyclodextrin (alpha-CD) as a result of the complexation between alpha-CD and PEO. The nanostructures produced were spherical in shape as observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and possessed radii that were much larger than that of a single stretched polymeric chain. The ratio of Rg/Rh (where Rg is the z-average radius of gyration and Rh is the hydrodynamic radius) obtained from laser light scattering (LLS) was approximately approximately 1.0, and the aggregation number was approximately 4100. The zeta-potential of complex particle was -45 mV, suggesting that the particle possessed a stable negatively charged surface, attributed to ionized PAA segments. The above results suggested that the nanostructures formed in the PEO-b-PAA/alpha-CD solution at high pH were likely to be spherical vesicles.
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