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Updated: Dec 24, 2025

Anionic Polymerization of an Amphiphilic Copolymer for Preparation of Block Copolymer Micelles Stabilized by π-π Stacking Interactions
Published on: October 10, 2016
Nanocarriers from dicationic bis-imidazolium amphiphiles and their interaction with anionic drugs
Lucía Casal-Dujat1, Peter C Griffiths, Carlos Rodríguez-Abreu
1Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, and Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology UB (IN2UB) Universitat de Barcelona, 08028, Spain. mlperez@ub.edu.
Abstract:
Dicationic gemini surfactants based on bis-imidazolium salts with bromide counterions were synthesized and shown to self-assemble into micellar-type structures in aqueous solution. The solubilisation capability of these micelles for anionic drugs (valproate) indicates their great potential as drug nanocarriers. A range of physicochemical techniques including surface tension, fluorescence spectroscopy, small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and pulsed-gradient spin-echo nuclear magnetic resonance (PGSE-NMR) have been used to determine the nanocarrier (micelle) structure and to quantify the interaction of the drug with the nanocarrier. The insights gained here, structural activity relationships such as hydrophobic dependence of the CMC and drug binding isotherms, will allow for a rational optimization of molecular structure.
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