Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 8, 2026

Measuring the Time-Evolution of Nanoscale Materials with Stopped-Flow and Small-Angle Neutron Scattering
Published on: August 6, 2021
Effect of chain conformational change on micelle structures: experimental studies and molecular dynamics simulations
Weiwei Ding1, Shaoliang Lin, Jiaping Lin
1Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai 200237, China.
Abstract:
The effect of chain conformation change on the self-assembly behavior of poly(gamma-benzyl- l-glutamate)-block-poly(ethylene glycol) (PBLG-b-PEG) was studied both experimentally by transmission electron microscopy, laser light scattering, and circular dichroism and computationally using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. It was found that, by introducing trifluoroacetic acid to the PBLG-b-PEG solution, the conformation of the PBLG chain transforms from alpha-helix to random coil, which results in a change of the micelle structures formed by PBLG-b-PEG from rod to sphere. Meanwhile, the MD simulations were performed by using Brownian dynamics on the self-assembly behavior of model AB-type diblock copolymers with various chain rigidities of the A-block. The results show that, by decreasing the fraction of rigid chain conformation of the A-block, which corresponds to the helix-coil transition in the PBLG-b-PEG sample, the aggregate structure transforms from rod to sphere. The MD simulations also provide chain packing information in the micelles. On the basis of both experimental and MD simulation results, the mechanism regarding the effect of the conformation change of the polypeptide block copolymer on its self-association behavior is suggested.
Related Concept Videos
Micelles
¹H NMR of Conformationally Flexible Molecules: Temporal Resolution
¹H NMR of Conformationally Flexible Molecules: Variable-Temperature NMR
Conformations of Cyclohexane
The chair form is the most stable and derives its name from its resemblance to the “easy chair.” In the chair conformation, two carbon atoms are arranged out-of-plane — one above and one below, minimizing the torsional strain. In the chair form, the bond angle is very close to the ideal tetrahedral value,...
Protein Folding
Chair Conformation of Cyclohexane
The hydrogen atoms linked to carbons are arranged in two different axial and equatorial orientations to achieve this staggered...

