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Updated: May 23, 2026
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Fabrication of Spherical and Worm-shaped Micellar Nanocrystals by Combining Electrospray, Self-assembly, and Solvent-based Structure Control
Published on: February 11, 2018
Multifunctional nanoparticle-loaded spherical and wormlike micelles formed by interfacial instabilities
Jinhye Bae1, Jimmy Lawrence, Caroline Miesch
1Polymer Science and Engineering Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 01003, USA.
Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
|April 20, 2012
Summary
Researchers created hybrid block copolymer micelles that encapsulate inorganic nanoparticles. This versatile method allows for the co-encapsulation of diverse nanoparticles, forming multifunctional micelles.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Polymer Chemistry
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Amphiphilic block copolymers self-assemble into various micellar structures.
- Controlling nanoparticle incorporation into self-assembled nanostructures is challenging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a versatile method for fabricating hybrid micelles encapsulating inorganic nanoparticles.
- To investigate the encapsulation behavior of nanoparticles within block copolymer micelles.
Main Methods:
- Formation of hybrid spherical and wormlike micelles via evaporation-induced interfacial instabilities of emulsion droplets.
- Incorporation of pre-synthesized hydrophobic inorganic nanoparticles into micelle cores.
- Co-encapsulation of different types of nanoparticles.
Main Results:
- Successful fabrication of hybrid micelles with encapsulated inorganic nanoparticles.
- Encapsulation is largely insensitive to nanoparticle surface chemistry, shape, and size.
- Demonstrated co-encapsulation of different nanoparticles within the same micelle.
Conclusions:
- Evaporation-induced self-assembly provides a versatile route to multifunctional hybrid micelles.
- This method offers broad applicability for incorporating various nanoparticles into block copolymer nanostructures.
