Unlocking Chain Exchange in Highly Amphiphilic Block Polymer Micellar Systems: Influence of Agitation

Monomer Composition as a Mechanism to Control the Self-Assembly of Diblock Oligomeric Peptide-Polymer Amphiphiles

Diblock oligomeric peptide-polymer amphiphiles (PPAs) are biohybrid materials that offer versatile functionality by integrating the sequence-dependent properties of peptides with the synthetic versatility of polymers. Despite their potential as biocompatible materials, the rational design of PPAs for assembly into multichain nanoparticles remains challenging due to the complex intra- and intermolecular interactions emanating from the polymer and peptide segments. To systematically explore the impact of monomer composition on nanoparticle assembly, PPAs were synthesized with a random coil peptide (XTEN2) and oligomeric alkyl acrylates with different side chains: ethyl, tert-butyl, n-butyl, and cyclohexyl. Experimental characterization using electron and atomic force microscopies demonstrated that the tail hydrophobicity impacted accessible morphologies. Moreover, the characterization of different assembly protocols (i.e., bath sonication and thermal annealing) revealed that certain tail compositions provide access to kinetically trapped assemblies. All-atom molecular dynamics simulations of micelle formation unveiled key interactions and differences in core hydration, dictating the PPA assembly behavior. These findings highlight the complexity of PPA assembly dynamics and serve as valuable benchmarks to guide the design of PPAs for a variety of applications, including catalysis, mineralization, targeted sequestration, antimicrobial activity, and cargo transportation.

Surface Pressure-Area Mechanics of Water-Spread Poly(ethylene glycol)-Based Block Copolymer Micelle Monolayers at the Air-Water Interface: Effect of Hydrophobic Block Chemistry

Amphiphilic block copolymer micelles can mimic the ability of natural lung surfactant to reduce the air-water interfacial tension close to zero and prevent the Laplace pressure-induced alveolar collapse. In this work, we investigated the air-water interfacial behaviors of polymer micelles derived from eight different poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-based block copolymers having different hydrophobic block chemistries to elucidate the effect of the core block chemistry on the surface mechanics of the block copolymer micelles. Aqueous micelles of about 30 nm in hydrodynamic diameter were prepared from the PEG-based block copolymers via equilibration-nanoprecipitation (ENP) and spread on the water surface using water as the spreading medium. Surface pressure-area isotherm and quantitative Brewster angle microscopy (QBAM) measurements were performed to investigate how the micelle/monolayer structures change during lateral compression of the monolayer; widely varying structural behaviors were observed, including the wrinkling/collapse of micelle monolayers and deformation and/or the desorption of individual micelles. By bivariate correlation regression analysis of surface pressure-area isotherm data, it was found that the rigidity and hydrophobicity of the hydrophobic core domain, which are quantified by glass-transition temperature (Tg) and water contact angle (θ) measurements, respectively, are coupled factors that need to be taken into account concurrently in order to control the surface mechanical properties of polymer micelle monolayers; micelles having rigid and strongly hydrophobic cores exhibited high surface pressure and a high compressibility modulus under high compression. High surface pressure and a high compressibility modulus were also found to be correlated with the formation of wrinkles in the micelle monolayer (visualized by Brewster angle microscopy (BAM)). From this study, we conclude that polymer micelles based on hydrophobic block materials having higher Tg and θ are more suitable for surfactant replacement therapy applications that require the therapeutic surfactant to produce a high surface pressure and modulus at the alveolar air-water interface.

New approach for SANS measurement of micelle chain mixing during size and morphology transitions

Chain exchange in amphiphilic block polymer micelles is measurable with time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering (TR-SANS) where contrast-matched conditions reveal chain mixing as reduced intensity. However, analyzing chain mixing on short time scales e.g. during micelle transformations remains challenging. SANS model fitting can quantify chain mixing during size and morphology changes, however short acquisition times lead to lower data statistics (higher error). Such data are unsuitable for form factor fitting, especially with polydisperse and/or multimodal scenarios. An integrated-reference approach, R(t), is compatible with such data by using fixed reference patterns for the unmixed and fully mixed states that are each integrated to improve data statistics (lower error). Although the R(t) approach is tolerant of low data statistics, it remains incompatible with size and morphology changes. A new shifting references relaxation approach, SRR(t), is proposed where reference patterns are acquired at each time point to enable mixed state calculations regardless of short acquisition times. The additional experimental measurements needed are described which provide these time-varying reference patterns. The use of reference patterns makes the SRR(t) approach size/morphology-agnostic, allowing for the extent of micelle mixing to be directly calculated without this knowledge. SRR(t) is thus compatible with arbitrary levels of complexity and can provide accurate assessment of the mixed state which could support future model analysis. Calculated scattering datasets were used to demonstrate the SRR(t) approach during multiple size, morphology, and solvent conditions (scenarios 1-3). The mixed state calculated from the SRR(t) approach is shown to be accurate for all three scenarios.

Dynamics and Equilibration Mechanisms in Block Copolymer Particles

Self-assembly of block copolymers into interesting and useful nanostructures, in both solution and bulk, is a vibrant research arena. While much attention has been paid to characterization and prediction of equilibrium phases, the associated dynamic processes are far from fully understood. Here, we explore what is known and not known about the equilibration of particle phases in the bulk, and spherical micelles in solution. The presumed primary equilibration mechanisms are chain exchange, fusion, and fragmentation. These processes have been extensively studied in surfactants and lipids, where they occur on subsecond time scales. In contrast, increased chain lengths in block copolymers create much larger barriers, and time scales can become prohibitively slow. In practice, equilibration of block copolymers is achievable only in proximity to the critical micelle temperature (in solution) or the order-disorder transition (in the bulk). Detailed theories for these processes in block copolymers are few. In the bulk, the rate of chain exchange can be quantified by tracer diffusion measurements. Often the rate of equilibration, in terms of number density and aggregation number of particles, is much slower than chain exchange, and consequently observed particle phases are often metastable. This is particularly true in regions of the phase diagram where Frank-Kasper phases occur. Chain exchange in solution has been explored quantitatively by time-resolved SANS, but the results are not well captured by theory. Computer simulations, particularly via dissipative particle dynamics, are beginning to shed light on the chain escape mechanism at the molecular level. The rate of fragmentation has been quantified in a few experimental systems, and TEM images support a mechanism akin to the anaphase stage of mitosis in cells, via a thin neck that pinches off to produce two smaller micelles. Direct measurements of micelle fusion are quite rare. Suggestions for future theoretical, computational, and experimental efforts are offered.

High-χ, low-N micelles from partially perfluorinated block polymers

Kinetically trapped ("persistent") micelles enable emerging applications requiring a constant core diameter. Preserving a χN barrier to chain exchange with low-N requires a commensurately higher χ_core-solvent for micelle persistence. Low-N, high-χ micelles containing fluorophobic interactions were studied using poly(ethylene oxide-b-perfluorooctyl acrylate)s (O₄₅F_X, x = 8, 11) in methanolic solutions. DLS analysis of micelles revealed chain exchange only for O₄₅F₈ while SAXS analysis suggested elongated core block conformations commensurate with the contour lengths. Micelle chain exchange from solution perturbations were examined by characterizing their behavior as templates for inorganic materials via SAXS and SEM. In contrast to the F₈ analog, the larger χN barrier for the O₄₅F₁₁ enabled persistent micelle behavior in both thin films and bulk samples despite the low T_g micelle core. Careful measures of micelle core diameters and pore sizes revealed that the nanoparticle distribution extended through the corona and 0.52 ± 0.15 nm into the core-corona interface, highlighting thermodynamics favoring both locations simultaneously.

Molecular Exchange Kinetics in Complex Coacervate Core Micelles: Role of Associative Interaction

Molecular exchange dynamics between spherical complex coacervate core micelles (C3Ms) are documented using time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering measurements (TR-SANS), and the effects of salt concentration, type of charges, and core block polydispersity to the chain exchange are quantified. Isotopically labeled block copolyelectrolytes were prepared by postpolymerization modification of two nearly identical poly(ethylene oxide-b-allyl glycidyl ether), one with normal and the other with deuterated PEO blocks (i.e., hPEO-PAGE and dPEO-PAGE). The observed rates at multiple salt concentrations are consolidated using time-salt superposition shift factors representing chain exchange rates and analyzed. Our comprehensive analytical relaxation function based on the sticky-Rouse model and the thermodynamic barrier for core block extraction successfully describes the molecular exchange kinetics between the isotopically labeled C3Ms. We believe this work provides fundamental design criteria for C3Ms with engineered chain exchange dynamics.

Interpreting In Vitro Release Performance from Long-Acting Parenteral Nanosuspensions Using USP-4 Dissolution and Spectroscopic Techniques

Injectable sustained release dosage forms have emerged as desirable therapeutic routes for patients that require life-long treatments. The prevalence of drug molecules with low aqueous solubility and bioavailability has added momentum toward the development of suspension-based long-acting parenteral (LAP) formulations; the previously undesirable physicochemical properties of Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS) Class II/IV compounds are best suited for extended release applications. Effective in vitro release (IVR) testing of crystalline suspensions affirms product quality during early-stage development and provides connections with in vivo performance. However, before in vitro-in vivo correlations (IVIVCs) can be established, it is necessary to evaluate formulation attributes that directly affect IVR properties. In this work, a series of crystalline LAP nanosuspensions were formulated with different stabilizing polymers and applied to a continuous flow-through (USP-4) dissolution method. This technique confirmed the role of salt effects on the stability of polymer-coated nanoparticles through the detection of disparate active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) release profiles. The polymer stabilizers with extended hydrophilic chains exhibited elevated intrapolymer activity from the loss of hydrogen-bond cushioning in dissolution media with heightened ionic strength, confirmed through one-dimensional (1D) ¹H NMR and two-dimensional nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy (2D NOESY) experiments. Thus, steric repulsion within the affected nanosuspensions was limited and release rates decreased. Additionally, the strength of interaction between hydrophobic polymer components and the API crystalline surface contributed to suspension dissolution properties, confirmed through solution- and solid-state spectroscopic analyses. This study provides a unique perspective on the dynamic interface between the crystalline drug and aqueous microenvironment during dissolution.

Coassembly Kinetics of Graphene Oxide and Block Copolymers at the Water/Oil Interface

The coassembly kinetics of graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets and diblock copolymers at the water/toluene interface is probed by tracking the dynamic interfacial tension using pendant drop tensiometry. The diblock copolymer significantly enhances the surfactancy of the GO nanosheets at the interface. It is found that diblock copolymers rapidly adsorb to the water/toluene interface and enhance the adsorption affinity of GO nanosheets to the interface. The continuous adsorption of GO at the interface leads to a random loose packing state, at which the adsorbed GO and diblock copolymers start to form an elastic film. After this transition, GO continues to adsorb to the interface, however, at a much slower speed, yielding a more solidlike elastic film in the long time equilibrium limit.

Cavitation-enabled rapid and tunable evolution of high-χN micelles as templates for ordered mesoporous oxides

The kinetic-entrapment of block copolymer micelles enables size-persistence, however tuning micelle sizes under such conditions remains challenging. Agitation-induced chain exchange via vortexing is limited by the production of solution-air interfaces. Here, we use ultrasonic cavitation for rapid interface production that accelerates micelle growth by an order of magnitude over vortexing.

Elucidating the Molecular Processes for Creating Large or Bimodal Soft Nanoparticles from Block Copolymers via Blending

By simply blending two diblock copolymers with the same chemistry but with different compositions one is able to create well-defined larger soft -nanoparticles as well as bimodal soft nanoparticles. Specifically, blending two diblock copolymers in a solvent good for both blocks followed by a gradual introduction of a non-solvent results in a mixed micelle, larger than their pure block-copolymer-forming micelles. The formation of well-defined larger micelle is due to the balance between the ability of the mixed micelles to assemble or merge in comparison to their pure diblock copolymer micelles. Evidently, the blending ratio, the mixing protocol, and non-solvent addition rate are crucial to achieving well-defined larger or bimodal micelles.

Template-Free Bottom-Up Method for Fabricating Diblock Copolymer Patchy Particles

Patchy particles are one of most important building blocks for hierarchical structures because of the discrete patches on their surface. We have demonstrated a convenient, simple, and scalable bottom-up method for fabricating diblock copolymer patchy particles through both experiments and dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations. The experimental method simply involves reducing the solvent quality of the diblock copolymer solution by the slow addition of a nonsolvent. Specifically, the fabrication of diblock copolymer patchy particles begins with a crew-cut soft-core micelle, where the micelle core is significantly swelled by the solvent. With water addition at an extremely slow rate, the crew-cut soft-core micelles first form a larger crew-cut micelle. With further water addition, the corona-forming blocks of the crew-cut micelles begin to aggregate and eventually form well-defined patches. Both experiments and DPD simulations indicate that the number of patches has a very strong dependence on the diblock copolymer composition-the particle has more patches on the surface with a lower volume fraction of patch-forming blocks. Furthermore, particles with more patches have a greater ability to assemble, and particles with fewer patches have a greater ability to merge once assembled.

Studying the concentration dependence of the aggregation number of a micellar model system by SANS

We present a small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) structural characterization of n-alkyl-PEO polymer micelles in aqueous solution with special focus on the dependence of the micellar aggregation number on increasing concentration. The single micellar properties in the dilute region up to the overlap concentration ϕ* are determined by exploiting the well characterized unimer exchange kinetics of the model system in a freezing and diluting experiment. The micellar solutions are brought to thermodynamic equilibrium at high temperatures, where unimer exchange is fast, and are then cooled to low temperatures and diluted to concentrations in the limit of infinite dilution. At low temperatures the kinetics, and therefore the key mechanism for micellar rearrangement, is frozen on the experimental time scale, thus preserving the micellar structure in the dilution process. Information about the single micellar structure in the semidilute and concentrated region are extracted from structure factor analysis at high concentrations where the micelles order into fcc and bcc close packed lattices and the aggregation number can be calculated by geometrical arguments. This approach enables us to investigate the aggregation behavior in a wide concentration regime from dilute to 6·ϕ*, showing a constant aggregation number with concentration over a large concentration regime up to a critical concentration about three times ϕ*. When exceeding this critical concentration, the aggregation number was found to increase with increasing concentration. This behavior is compared to scaling theories for star-like polymer micelles.