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Updated: Apr 14, 2026

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water
Published on: August 2, 2012
Influence of backbone conformational rigidity in temperature-sensitive amphiphilic supramolecular assemblies
Krishna R Raghupathi1, Uma Sridhar1, Kevin Byrne1
1Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.
Abstract:
Molecular design features that endow amphiphilic supramolecular assemblies with a unique temperature-sensitive transition have been investigated. We find that conformational rigidity in the backbone is an important feature for eliciting this feature. We also find that intramolecular hydrogen-bonding can induce such rigidity in amphiphile backbone. Guest encapsulation stability of these assemblies was found to be significantly altered within a narrow temperature window, which correlates with the temperature-sensitive size transition of the molecular assembly. Molecular design principles demonstrated here could have broad implications in developing future temperature-responsive systems.
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