Solvent-Driven Formation of Worm-Like Micelles Assembled from a CO₂-Responsive Triblock Copolymer

Tracking Wormlike Micelle Formation in Solution: Unique Insight through Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopic Study

Although worm-like micelles were invented 35 years ago, its formation pathway remains unclear. Inspired by the fact that a single molecular level experiment could provide meaningful and additional information, especially in a heterogeneous subpopulation, herein, we present a single molecular level study on the formation of wormlike micelles by cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and sodium salicylate (NaSal) in water. Our results indicated a coexistence of normal spherical micelles along with a big wormlike micelle in its formation path. More interestingly, we have two unique insights into the formation mechanism, which are inaccessible in ensemble averaged experiments: (i) at extremely low concentrations of the surfactant, [CTAB]/[NaSal] ∼ 0.06, the wormlike micelle attains the highest size; and (ii) the relative concentration of wormlike micelles is highest when [CTAB]/[NaSal] ∼ 2.

Solution self-assembly of fluorinated polymers, an overview

The incorporation of fluorinated moieties into a polymer can confer unique properties and often lead in solution to original morphologies endowed with rare properties.

A CO2-responsive smart fluid based on supramolecular assembly structures varying reversibly from vesicles to wormlike micelles

CO2-responsive smart fluids have been widely investigated in the past decade. In this article, we reported a CO2-responsive smart fluid based on supramolecular assembly structures varying from vesicles to wormlike micelles. Firstly, oleic acid and 3-dimethylaminopropylamine reacted to form a single-chain weak cationic surfactant with a tertiary amine head group, N-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]oleamide (NDPO). Then, 1,3-dibromopropane was used as the spacer to react with NDPO to form a gemini cationic surfactant, trimethylene α,ω-bis(oleate amide propyl dimethyl ammonium bromide) (GCS). By controlling the feed ratio of 1,3-dibromopropane and NDPO, we found that the mixtures of GCS and NDPO with the molar ratio of 7 : 3 approximately could form vesicles in aqueous solution by supramolecular self-assembly. After bubbling CO2, the tertiary amine of NDPO was protonated. The packing parameter of the mixed surfactants reduced accordingly, accompanied by the transition of aggregates from vesicles to wormlike micelles. As a result, the zero-shear viscosity of the solution increased by more than four orders in magnitude. When the solid content of GCS/NPDO mixtures was higher than 5 wt% in solution, the sample treated by CO2 behaved as a gel over a wide frequency range with shear-thinning and self-healing properties. In addition, the sol-gel transition could be repeatedly and reversibly switched by cyclically bubbling CO2 and N2. Our effort may provide a new strategy for the design of CO2-responsive smart fluids, fostering their use in a range of applications such as in enhanced oil recovery.

Advances in PEG-based ABC terpolymers and their applications

ABC terpolymers are a class of very important polymers because of their expansive molecular topologies and extensive architectures. As block A, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) is one of the most principal categories owing to good biocompatibility and wide commercial availability. More importantly, the synthetic approaches of ABC terpolymers using PEG as a macroinitiator are facile and varied. PEG-based ABC terpolymers from design and synthesis to applications are highlighted in this review. Linear, 3-miktoarm, and cyclic polymers as the architecture are separated. The synthetic approaches of PEG-based ABC terpolymers mainly include the sequential polymerization or coupling of polymers. PEG-based ABC terpolymers have wide applications in the fields of drug carriers, gene vectors, templates for the fabrication of inorganic hollow nanospheres, and stabilizers of metal nanoparticles.

Wormlike Micelles of a Cationic Surfactant in Polar Organic Solvents: Extending Surfactant Self-Assembly to New Systems and Subzero Temperatures

Wormlike micelles (WLMs) are long, flexible cylindrical chains formed by the self-assembly of surfactants in semidilute solutions. Scientists have been fascinated by WLMs because of their similarities to polymers, while at the same time, the viscoelastic properties of WLM solutions have made them useful in a variety of industrial applications. To date, most studies on WLMs have been performed in water (i.e., a highly polar liquid), while there are a few examples of "reverse" WLMs in oils (i.e., highly nonpolar liquids). However, in organic solvents with lower polarity than water such as glycerol, formamide, and ethylene glycol, there have been no reports of WLMs thus far. Here, we show that it is indeed possible to induce a long-tailed cationic surfactant to assemble into WLMs in several of these solvents. To form WLMs, the surfactant is combined with a "binding" salt, i.e., one with a large organic counterion that is capable of binding to the micelles. Examples of such salts include sodium salicylate and sodium tosylate, and we find self-assembly to be maximized when the surfactant and salt concentrations are near-equimolar. Interestingly, the addition of a simple, inorganic salt such as sodium chloride (NaCl) to the same surfactant does not induce WLMs in polar solvents (although it does so in water). Thus, the design rules for WLM formation in polar solvents are distinct from those in water. Aqueous WLMs have been characterized at temperatures from 25 °C and above, but few studies have examined WLMs at much lower (e.g., subzero) temperatures. Here, we have selected a surfactant with a very low Krafft point (i.e., the surfactant does not crystallize out of solution upon cooling due to a cis-unsaturation in its tail) and a low-freezing solvent, viz. a 90/10 mixture of glycerol and ethylene glycol. In these mixtures, we find evidence for WLMs that persist down to temperatures as low as -20 °C. Rheological techniques as well as small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) have been used to characterize the WLMs under these conditions. Much like their aqueous counterparts, WLMs in polar solvents show viscoelastic properties, and accordingly, these fluids could find applications as synthetic lubricants or as improved antifreezing fluids.

UV-Responsive Behavior of Multistate and Multiscale Self-Assemblies Constructed by Gemini Surfactant 12-3-12·2Br- and trans- o-Methoxy-cinnamate

Photoresponsive systems with adjustable self-assembly morphologies and tunable rheological properties have aroused widespread concern of researchers in recent years because of their prospect applications in controlled release, microfluidics, sensors, and so forth. In this paper, we combine a cationic Gemini surfactant 12-3-12·2Br^- and trans-2-methoxy-cinnamate ( trans-OMCA) together to create a representative UV-responsive self-assembly system. The system displays abundant self-assembly behaviors, and the self-assemblies with different states and different scales including wormlike micelles, vesicles, and lyotropic liquid crystals (LCs) as well as an aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) are observed even at lower surfactant concentration. The UV-responsive behavior of the formed self-assemblies is investigated systematically. The results have shown that the photoisomerization of OMCA from trans form to cis form under UV light irradiation alters the hydrophobicity and steric hindrance effect of OMCA and thus affects the molecular packing at the micellar interface and further leads to the transformation of assembly morphologies. The long wormlike micelles can gradually transform into much shorter rodlike micelles under UV irradiation and companied by the decrease of solution viscosity by 2 orders of magnitude. In addition, the vesicles can evolve into multistate self-assembly structures including the ATPS, wormlike micelles, rod-like micelles, and small spherical micelles depending on the UV irradiation time. The ATPS and its adjacent anisotropic LC phase can respectively combine into a single phase and separate into ATPS under UV irradiation. The morphologies of assemblies in the 12-3-12·2Br^-/ trans-OMCA mixed system can be tailored by adjusting the system composition and duration of UV light irradiation on purpose. The photoresponsive system with abundant self-assembly behaviors and tunable rheological properties has wide application prospect in numerous fields such as drug delivery, materials science, smart fluids, and so forth, and the macroscopic phase separation and combination provide novel strategies for effective separation and purification of certain substances.

Responsive, switchable wormlike micelles for CO2/N2 and redox dual stimuli based on selenium-containing surfactants

A dual-stimuli responsive, wormlike micelle system was developed using a switchable selenium-containing surfactant, dihendecylcarboxylic acid sodium selenide (C₁₁-Se-C₁₁), and a commercially available surfactant, cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB). The solution showed a viscoelastic characteristic at low shear frequencies, and the synergism was significant when the concentrations of CTAB and C₁₁-Se-C₁₁ were 145 mM and 25 mM, respectively. Additionally, the system was fast and reversibly responded to CO₂ and redox dual stimuli, and it showed a circulatory gel/sol transition, which reflected changes in the self-assembly from entangled worms to rodlike micelles. Moreover, these transitions were switchable at least three times. The dual responsiveness of the solution allowed for precise control of the wormlike micelles, and these micelles will have a wide range of applications in the development of functional materials for pharmaceutical or biomedical materials.

CO2-Responsive fluorescent hyperbranched poly(ether amine)s

Hyperbranched polymers bearing a fluorophore display gas-controlled fluorescence switching as a result of reversible protonation/deprotonation of amino groups in their structure.

CO2-Responsive polymer materials

This paper reviews the chemical fundamentals of CO₂-responsive polymers as well as the latest reported “smart” material systems switched by CO₂.

CO2-Responsive polymer membranes with gas-tunable pore size

A novel type of CO₂-responsive polymer membrane shows gas-tunable pore size that can be used for size exclusion-based filtration of gold nanoparticles.

CO2-responsive polymeric materials: synthesis, self-assembly, and functional applications

CO2 is an ideal trigger for switchable or stimuli-responsive materials because it is benign, inexpensive, green, abundant, and does not accumulate in the system. Many different CO2-responsive materials including polymers, latexes, solvents, solutes, gels, surfactants, and catalysts have been prepared. This review focuses on the preparation, self-assembly, and functional applications of CO2-responsive polymers. Detailed discussion is provided on the synthesis of CO2-responsive polymers, in particular using reversible deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP), formerly known as controlled/living radical polymerization (CLRP), a powerful technique for the preparation of well-defined (co)polymers with precise control over molecular weight distribution, chain-end functional groups, and polymer architectural design. Self-assembly in aqueous dispersed media is highlighted as well as emerging potential applications.

Dextran-b-poly(lactide-co-glycolide) polymersome for oral delivery of insulin: In vitro and in vivo evaluation

Insulin is the first line therapy in type 1 diabetes and usually patients suffer from three or more daily insulin injections. It is obvious that patient compliance can be improved greatly if insulin could be formulated in an oral dosage form. In the current study, polymersomes based on amphiphilic copolymers of dextran (DEX)5000-poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)13,000 and DEX25000-PLGA48000 were synthesized and used for the encapsulation of insulin. The polymersomes were prepared using a modified direct hydration method by blending an aqueous solution of insulin with DEX-PLGA copolymers at room temperature. The in vitro insulin release through the nanopolymersomal system was studied in HCl 0.1N (pH1.2) and phosphate buffered saline (pH7.4). The results demonstrated that the average insulin encapsulation efficiency was >90%. The in vitro release experiment demonstrated that while insulin release in the simulated gastric condition was negligible, a significant amount of insulin was released in the simulated intestinal condition. According to the results of a circular dichroism test, secondary and tertiary structures of the released insulin were identical to that of standard insulin. Permeability studies across MDCK cells showed that permeability levels after 240 min were 16.89 ± 0.39% with DEX5000-PLGA13000 and 9.34 ± 0.79% with DEX25000-PLGA48000, indicating a noticeable increase compared with free insulin. Significant hypoglycemic effects in the in vivo diabetic rat model revealed the efficacy of the DEX-PLGA-based polymersomes as oral insulin carriers. Thus, insulin-loaded, self-assembled DEX-PLGA polymersomes showed promising in vitro and in vivo efficiency and can be considered as a potential oral insulin carrier system.

Synthesis and self-assembly of ABC linear triblock copolymers to target CO2-responsive multicompartment micelles

A series of ABC triblock copolymers were synthesized by tailoring the block length, suggesting polymers in a narrow composition window (0.34 ≤ f_F ≤ 0.38) might transform from spherical micelles to multicompartment micelles upon stimulation of CO₂.