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Javan Nikkhah S, Sammalkorpi M. Single core and multicore aggregates from a polymer mixture: A dissipative particle dynamics study. J Colloid Interface Sci 2023; 635:231-241. [PMID: 36587575 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2022.12.119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2022] [Revised: 12/04/2022] [Accepted: 12/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
HYPOTHESIS Multicore block copolymer aggregates correspond to self-assembly such that the polymer system spontaneously phase separates to multiple, droplet-like cores differing in the composition from the polymer surroundings. Such multiple core aggregates are highly useful capsules for different applications, e.g., drug transport, catalysis, controlled solvation, and chemical reactions platforms. We postulate that polymer system composition provides a direct means for designing polymer systems that self-assemble to such morphologies and controlling the assembly response. SIMULATIONS Using dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations, we examine the self-assembly of a mixture of highly and weakly solvophobic homopolymers and an amphiphilic block copolymer in the presence of solvent. We map the multicore vs single core (core-shell particles) assembly response and aggregate structure in terms of block copolymer concentration, polymer component ratios, and chain length of the weakly solvophobic homopolymer. FINDINGS For fixed components and polymer chemistries, the amount of block copolymer is the key to controlling single core vs multicore aggregation. We find a polymer system dependent critical copolymer concentration for the multicore aggregation and that a minimum level of incompatibility between the solvent and the weakly solvophobic component is required for multicore assembly. We discuss the implications for polymer system design for multicore assemblies. In summary, the study presents guidelines to produce multicore aggregates and to tune the assembly from multicore aggregation to single core core-shell particles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sousa Javan Nikkhah
- Department of Chemistry and Materials Science, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 16100, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland; Department of Physics, Bernal Institute, University of Limerick, V94 T9PX Limerick, Ireland; Department of Chemical Sciences, Bernal Institute, University of Limerick, V94 T9PX Limerick, Ireland.
| | - Maria Sammalkorpi
- Department of Chemistry and Materials Science, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 16100, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland; Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 16100, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland; Academy of Finland Center of Excellence in Life-Inspired Hybrid Materials (LIBER), Aalto University, P.O. Box 16100, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland.
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2
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Zhu Q, Tree DR. Simulations of morphology control of self‐assembled amphiphilic surfactants. JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE 2023. [DOI: 10.1002/pol.20220771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/19/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Qinyu Zhu
- Department of Chemical Engineering Brigham Young University Provo Utah USA
| | - Douglas R. Tree
- Department of Chemical Engineering Brigham Young University Provo Utah USA
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3
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Brito ME, Mikhtaniuk SE, Neelov IM, Borisov OV, Holm C. Implicit-Solvent Coarse-Grained Simulations of Linear-Dendritic Block Copolymer Micelles. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:2763. [PMID: 36769091 PMCID: PMC9917066 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24032763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Revised: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The design of nanoassemblies can be conveniently achieved by tuning the strength of the hydrophobic interactions of block copolymers in selective solvents. These block copolymer micelles form supramolecular aggregates, which have attracted great attention in the area of drug delivery and imaging in biomedicine due to their easy-to-tune properties and straightforward large-scale production. In the present work, we have investigated the micellization process of linear-dendritic block copolymers in order to elucidate the effect of branching on the micellar properties. We focus on block copolymers formed by linear hydrophobic blocks attached to either dendritic neutral or charged hydrophilic blocks. We have implemented a simple protocol for determining the equilibrium micellar size, which permits the study of linear-dendritic block copolymers in a wide range of block morphologies in an efficient and parallelizable manner. We have explored the impact of different topological and charge properties of the hydrophilic blocks on the equilibrium micellar properties and compared them to predictions from self-consistent field theory and scaling theory. We have found that, at higher degrees of branching in the corona and for short polymer chains, excluded volume interactions strongly influence the micellar aggregation as well as their effective charge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariano E. Brito
- Institute for Computational Physics, University of Stuttgart, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Sofia E. Mikhtaniuk
- School of Computer Technologies and Control, St. Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics, 197101 St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Igor M. Neelov
- School of Computer Technologies and Control, St. Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics, 197101 St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Oleg V. Borisov
- School of Computer Technologies and Control, St. Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics, 197101 St. Petersburg, Russia
- Institut des Sciences Analytiques et de Physico-Chimie pour l’Environnement et les Matériaux, UMR 5254 CNRS UPPA, 64053 Pau, France
| | - Christian Holm
- Institute for Computational Physics, University of Stuttgart, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany
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4
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Hybrid Molecules Consisting of Lysine Dendrons with Several Hydrophobic Tails: A SCF Study of Self-Assembling. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24032078. [PMID: 36768408 PMCID: PMC9916814 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24032078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2022] [Revised: 01/14/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
In this article, we used the numerical self-consistent field method of Scheutjens-Fleer to study the micellization of hybrid molecules consisting of one polylysine dendron with charged end groups and several linear hydrophobic tails attached to its root. The main attention was paid to spherical micelles and the determination of the range of parameters at which they can appear. A relationship has been established between the size and internal structure of the resulting spherical micelles and the length and number of hydrophobic tails, as well as the number of dendron generations. It is shown that the splitting of the same number of hydrophobic monomers from one long tail into several short tails leads to a decrease in the aggregation number and, accordingly, the number of terminal charges in micelles. At the same time, it was shown that the surface area per dendron does not depend on the number of hydrophobic monomers or tails in the hybrid molecule. The relationship between the structure of hybrid molecules and the electrostatic properties of the resulting micelles has also been studied. It is found that the charge distribution in the corona depends on the number of dendron generations G in the hybrid molecule. For a small number of generations (up to G=3), a standard double electric layer is observed. For a larger number of generations (G=4), the charges of dendrons in the corona are divided into two populations: in the first population, the charges are in the spherical layer near the boundary between the micelle core and shell, and in the second population, the charges are near the periphery of the spherical shell. As a result, a part of the counterions is localized in the wide region between them. These results are of potential interest for the use of spherical dendromicelles as nanocontainers for drug delivery.
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5
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Mesoscale Modeling of Agglomeration of Molecular Bottlebrushes: Focus on Conformations and Clustering Criteria. Polymers (Basel) 2022; 14:polym14122339. [PMID: 35745920 PMCID: PMC9227207 DOI: 10.3390/polym14122339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Revised: 06/03/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Using dissipative particle dynamics, we characterize dynamics of aggregation of molecular bottlebrushes in solvents of various qualities by tracking the number of clusters, the size of the largest cluster, and an average aggregation number. We focus on a low volume fraction of bottlebrushes in a range of solvents and probe three different cutoff criteria to identify bottlebrushes belonging to the same cluster. We demonstrate that the cutoff criteria which depend on both the coordination number and the length of the side chain allows one to correlate the agglomeration status with the structural characteristics of bottlebrushes in solvents of various qualities. We characterize conformational changes of the bottlebrush within the agglomerates with respect to those of an isolated bottlebrush in the same solvents. The characterization of bottlebrush conformations within the agglomerates is an important step in understanding the relationship between the bottlebrush architecture and material properties. An analysis of three distinct cutoff criteria to identify bottlebrushes belonging to the same cluster introduces a framework to identify both short-lived transient and long-lived agglomerates; the same approach could be further extended to characterize agglomerates of various macromolecules with complex architectures beyond the specific bottlebrush architecture considered herein.
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6
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Chen Y, Yan R, Zhao N. Passive and active tracer dynamics in polymer solutions with isotropic-to-nematic phase transition. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:7415-7429. [PMID: 35266498 DOI: 10.1039/d2cp00323f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Macromolecular crowding plays a crucial role in determining the dynamics in a living cell. We adopt Langevin dynamics simulations to investigate the anomalous diffusion dynamics of passive and active particles in a solution of polymer chains with tunable stiffness. The solution's anisotropic feature is modulated by changing both the polymer stiffness and volume fraction, where isotropic-to-nematic phase transition is involved. Our results demonstrate the significant impact of polymer flexibility on the dynamics of both passive and active probes. The distinct diffusion mechanism for an active particle is clarified by the interplay between polymer stiffness, crowdedness and activity. Polymer stiffness leads to a global inhibition effect on passive particle diffusion. The diffusion coefficient exhibits an intriguing non-monotonic variation at increasing polymer stiffness, which is due to the fact that the alignment of polymer chains is beneficial for diffusion along the nematic direction but unfavorable for that in the direction perpendicular to it. In sharp contrast, polymer stiffness plays a dominant role in facilitating active particle diffusion. Self-propulsion of the particle can utilize stiffness-induced elastic interactions more efficiently, which promotes its mobility in both directions. Meanwhile, an active particle might have a stronger ability to take advantage of the polymer alignment, contributing substantially enhanced diffusivity. In addition, the diffusion coefficient of an active particle is subject to a tendency of degeneration against varying volume fraction. This counter-intuitive behavior is due to the contrasting factors that increasing crowdedness induces a lower particle speed but a longer persistent motion time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Chen
- College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China.
| | - Ran Yan
- College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China.
| | - Nanrong Zhao
- College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China.
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7
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Procházka K, Limpouchová Z, Štěpánek M, Šindelka K, Lísal M. DPD Modelling of the Self- and Co-Assembly of Polymers and Polyelectrolytes in Aqueous Media: Impact on Polymer Science. Polymers (Basel) 2022; 14:404. [PMID: 35160394 PMCID: PMC8838752 DOI: 10.3390/polym14030404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2021] [Revised: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
This review article is addressed to a broad community of polymer scientists. We outline and analyse the fundamentals of the dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulation method from the point of view of polymer physics and review the articles on polymer systems published in approximately the last two decades, focusing on their impact on macromolecular science. Special attention is devoted to polymer and polyelectrolyte self- and co-assembly and self-organisation and to the problems connected with the implementation of explicit electrostatics in DPD numerical machinery. Critical analysis of the results of a number of successful DPD studies of complex polymer systems published recently documents the importance and suitability of this coarse-grained method for studying polymer systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karel Procházka
- Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Hlavova 8, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic; (Z.L.); (M.Š.)
| | - Zuzana Limpouchová
- Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Hlavova 8, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic; (Z.L.); (M.Š.)
| | - Miroslav Štěpánek
- Department of Physical and Macromolecular Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Hlavova 8, 128 43 Prague, Czech Republic; (Z.L.); (M.Š.)
| | - Karel Šindelka
- Department of Molecular and Mesoscopic Modelling, Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals, Czech Academy of Sciences, Rozvojová 135, 165 02 Prague, Czech Republic; (K.Š.); (M.L.)
| | - Martin Lísal
- Department of Molecular and Mesoscopic Modelling, Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals, Czech Academy of Sciences, Rozvojová 135, 165 02 Prague, Czech Republic; (K.Š.); (M.L.)
- Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, Pasteurova 3632, 400 96 Ústí n. Labem, Czech Republic
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8
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Rodichkin ID, Gumerov RA, Potemkin II. Self-assembly of miktoarm palm tree-like star copolymers in a selective solvent. J Colloid Interface Sci 2022; 606:1966-1973. [PMID: 34749445 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2021.09.196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Revised: 06/29/2021] [Accepted: 09/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Amphiphilic miktoarm star copolymers with one long solvophobic arm (a "stem") and several short solvophilic arms (the "leaves") were studied in a selective solvent using mesoscopic computer simulations. The conventional morphologies (spherical, cylindrical and vesicular) as well as the mixed ones were obtained. However, the resulting diagram of states appeared to be different from the diagram of the linear diblock copolymer with the analogous composition. Namely, the increase of the number of leaves at fixed solvophobic-solvophilic ratio leads to the transition from the vesicles to the cylinders, while the latter ones eventually transform into spherical micelles in the case of highly branched copolymers. The observed effect appears due to the increase of the interfacial area between the collapsed and swollen blocks per single macromolecule. In turn, the increase of the solvent selectivity shifts the stability region of the cylindrical micelles to the region of more symmetric copolymer composition. Meanwhile, the compatibility between the blocks has a weak effect on the resulting morphology. Finally, it was found that the increase in the number of leaves and the simultaneous decrease in their length results in the localization of higher amount of solvophilic segments near the core-solvent interface, which in the case of cylindrical micelles significantly affects the shape of the aggregates making them thinner and longer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan D Rodichkin
- Physics Department, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1-2, Moscow 119991, Russian Federation
| | - Rustam A Gumerov
- Physics Department, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1-2, Moscow 119991, Russian Federation; DWI - Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials e.V., Forckenbeckstraße 50, Aachen 52056, Germany
| | - Igor I Potemkin
- Physics Department, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory 1-2, Moscow 119991, Russian Federation; DWI - Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials e.V., Forckenbeckstraße 50, Aachen 52056, Germany; National Research South Ural State University, Chelyabinsk 454080, Russian Federation.
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9
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Paruchuri BC, Gopal V, Sarupria S, Larsen J. Toward enzyme-responsive polymersome drug delivery. Nanomedicine (Lond) 2021; 16:2679-2693. [PMID: 34870451 DOI: 10.2217/nnm-2021-0194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
In drug delivery, enzyme-responsive drug carriers are becoming increasingly relevant because of the growing association of disease pathology with enzyme overexpression. Polymersomes are of interest to such applications because of their tunable properties. While polymersomes open up a wide range of chemical and physical properties to explore, they also present a challenge in developing generalized rules for the synthesis of novel systems. Motivated by this issue, in this perspective, we summarize the existing knowledge on enzyme-responsive polymersomes and outline the main design choices. Then, we propose heuristics to guide the design of novel systems. Finally, we discuss the potential of an integrated approach using computer simulations and experimental studies to streamline this design process and close the existing knowledge gaps.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Varun Gopal
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29631, USA.,Department of Chemical Engineering & Material Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Sapna Sarupria
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29631, USA.,Center for Optical Materials Science & Engineering Technologies (COMSET), Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29670, USA.,Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Jessica Larsen
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29631, USA.,Department of Bioengineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29631, USA
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10
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Guo WX, Hu LF, Feng YH, Chen BZ, Guo XD. Advances in self-assembling of pH-sensitive polymers: A mini review on dissipative particle dynamics. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 2021; 210:112202. [PMID: 34840030 DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2021.112202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2021] [Revised: 10/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/31/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Dissipative Particle Dynamics (DPD) is a mesoscopic simulation program used to simulate the behavior of complex fluids. This work systematically reviews the use of DPD to simulate the self-assembly process of pH-sensitive drug-loaded nanoparticles. pH-sensitive drug-loaded nanoparticles have the characteristics of good targeting and slow release in the body, which is an ideal method for treating cancer and other diseases. As an excellent simulation method, DPD can help people explore the loading and release laws of drugs with complex molecular structures and has extensive applications in other medical fields. This article reviews the self-assembly process of pH-sensitive polymers under neutral conditions and explores the factors that affect the self-assembly structure. It points out that different hydrophilic-hydrophobic ratios, molecular structures, and component distributions will affect the morphology, stability and drug carrying capacity of micelles. This article also introduces the release mechanism of the drug in detail and introduces the factors that affect the release. This article can help relevant researchers to follow the latest advances in the DPD simulation and pH-sensitive drug nano-carrier and insight people to investigate the further application of DPD simulation in biomedical science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Xin Guo
- Beijing Laboratory of Biomedical Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, PR China
| | - Liu Fu Hu
- Beijing Laboratory of Biomedical Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, PR China
| | - Yun Hao Feng
- Beijing Laboratory of Biomedical Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, PR China
| | - Bo Zhi Chen
- Beijing Laboratory of Biomedical Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, PR China.
| | - Xin Dong Guo
- Beijing Laboratory of Biomedical Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, PR China.
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11
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Kravchenko VS, Abetz V, Potemkin II. Self-assembly of gradient copolymers in a selective solvent. New structures and comparison with diblock and statistical copolymers. POLYMER 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2021.124288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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12
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Tan F, Chen Y, Zhao N. Effects of active crowder size and activity-crowding coupling on polymer translocation. SOFT MATTER 2021; 17:1940-1954. [PMID: 33427276 DOI: 10.1039/d0sm01906b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Polymer translocation in complex environments is crucially important to many biological processes in life. In the present work, we adopted two-dimensional Langevin dynamics simulations to study the forced and unbiased polymer translocation dynamics in active and crowded media. The translocation time and probability are analyzed in terms of active force Fa, volume fraction φ and also the crowder size. The non-trivial active crowder size effect and activity-crowding coupling effect as well as the novel mechanism of unbiased translocation between two active environments with different active particle sizes are clarified. Firstly, for forced translocation, we reveal an intriguing non-monotonic dependence of the translocation time on the crowder size in the case of large activity. In particular, crowders of intermediate size similar to the polymer segment are proven to be the most favorable for translocation. Moreover, a facilitation-inhibition crossover of the translocation time with increasing volume fraction is observed, indicating a crucial activity-crowding coupling effect. Secondly, for unbiased translocation driven by different active crowder sizes, the translocation probability demonstrates a novel turnover phenomenon, implying the appearance of an opposite directional preference as the active force exceeds a critical value. The translocation time in both directions decreases monotonically with the active force. The asymmetric activity effect together with the entropic driving scenario provides a reasonable picture for the peculiar behavior observed in unbiased translocation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Tan
- College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China.
| | - Ying Chen
- College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China.
| | - Nanrong Zhao
- College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China.
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13
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Feng F, Lei T, Zhao N. Tunable depletion force in active and crowded environments. Phys Rev E 2021; 103:022604. [PMID: 33736064 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.103.022604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
We adopt two-dimensional Langevin dynamics simulations to study the effective interactions between two passive colloids in a bath crowded with active particles. We mainly pay attention to the significant effects of active particle size, crowding-activity coupling, and chirality. First, a transition of depletion force from repulsion to attraction is revealed by varying particle size. Moreover, larger active crowders with sufficient activity can generate strong attractive force, which is in contrast to the cage effect in passive media. It is interesting that the attraction induced by large active crowders follows a linear scaling with the persistence length of active particles. Second, the effective force also experiences a transition from repulsion to attraction as volume fraction increases, as a consequence of the competition between the two contrastive factors of activity and crowding. As bath volume fraction is relatively small, activity generates a dominant repulsion force, while as the bath becomes concentrated, crowding-induced attraction becomes overwhelming. Lastly, in a chiral bath, we observe a very surprising oscillation phenomenon of active depletion force, showing an evident quasiperiodic variation with increasing chirality. Aggregation of active particles in the vicinity of the colloids is carefully examined, which serves as a reasonable picture for our observations. Our findings provide an inspiring strategy for the tunable active depletion force by crowding, activity, and chirality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fane Feng
- Department of Physical Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
| | - Ting Lei
- Department of Physical Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
| | - Nanrong Zhao
- Department of Physical Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
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14
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Javan Nikkhah S, Thompson D. Molecular Modelling Guided Modulation of Molecular Shape and Charge for Design of Smart Self-Assembled Polymeric Drug Transporters. Pharmaceutics 2021; 13:141. [PMID: 33499130 PMCID: PMC7912381 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13020141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2020] [Revised: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Nanomedicine employs molecular materials for prevention and treatment of disease. Recently, smart nanoparticle (NP)-based drug delivery systems were developed for the advanced transport of drug molecules. Rationally engineered organic and inorganic NP platforms hold the promise of improving drug targeting, solubility, prolonged circulation, and tissue penetration. However, despite great progress in the synthesis of NP building blocks, more interdisciplinary research is needed to understand their self-assembly and optimize their performance as smart nanocarriers. Multi-scale modeling and simulations provide a valuable ally to experiment by mapping the potential energy landscape of self-assembly, translocation, and delivery of smart drug-loaded NPs. Here, we highlight key recent advances to illustrate the concepts, methods, and applications of smart polymer-based NP drug delivery. We summarize the key design principles emerging for advanced multifunctional polymer topologies, illustrating how the unusual architecture and chemistry of dendritic polymers, self-assembling polyelectrolytes and cyclic polymers can provide exceptional drug delivery platforms. We provide a roadmap outlining the opportunities and challenges for the effective use of predictive multiscale molecular modeling techniques to accelerate the development of smart polymer-based drug delivery systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sousa Javan Nikkhah
- Department of Physics, Bernal Institute, University of Limerick, V94 T9PX Limerick, Ireland;
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15
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Zhu Q, Scott TR, Tree DR. Using reactive dissipative particle dynamics to understand local shape manipulation of polymer vesicles. SOFT MATTER 2021; 17:24-39. [PMID: 33179711 DOI: 10.1039/d0sm01654c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Biological cells have long been of interest to researchers due to their capacity to actively control their shape. Accordingly, there is significant interest in generating simplified synthetic protocells that can alter their shape based on an externally or internally generated stimulus. To date, most progress has been made towards controlling the global shape of a protocell, whereas less is known about generating a local shape change. Here, we seek to better understand the possible mechanisms for producing local morphological changes in a popular protocell system, the block copolymer vesicle. Accordingly, we have combined Dissipative Particle Dynamics (DPD) and the Split Reactive Brownian Dynamics algorithm (SRBD) to produce a simulation tool that is capable of modeling the dynamics of self-assembled polymer structures as they undergo chemical reactions. Using this Reactive DPD or RDPD method, we investigate local morphological change driven by either the microinjection of a stimulus or an enzymatically-produced stimulus. We find that sub-vesicle-scale morphological change can be induced by either a solvent stimulus that swells the vesicle membrane, or by a reactant stimulus that alters the chemistry of the block polymer in the membrane corona. Notably, the latter method results in a more persistent local deformation than the former, which we attribute to the slower diffusion of polymer chains relative to the solvent. We quantify this deformation and show that it can be modulated by altering the interaction parameter of the parts of the polymer chain that are affected by the stimulus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qinyu Zhu
- Chemical Engineering Department, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA.
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16
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Shan Y, Ji Y, Wang X, He L, Li S. Predicting asymmetric phospholipid microstructures in solutions. RSC Adv 2020; 10:24521-24532. [PMID: 35516199 PMCID: PMC9055179 DOI: 10.1039/d0ra03732j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2020] [Accepted: 06/18/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Asymmetric phospholipid microstructures, such as asymmetric phospholipid membranes, have potential applications in biological and medicinal processes. Here, we used the dissipative particle dynamics simulation method to predict the asymmetric phospholipid microstructures in aqueous solutions. The asymmetric phospholipid membranes, tubes and vesicles are determined and characterized by the chain density distributions and order parameters. The phase diagrams are constructed to evaluate the effects of the chain length on the asymmetric structure formations at equilibrium states, while the average radius of gyration and shape factors are calculated to analyze the asymmetric structure formations in the non-equilibrium processes. Meanwhile, we predicted the mechanical properties of the asymmetric membranes by analyzing the spatial distributions of the interface tensions and osmotic pressures in solutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Shan
- Department of Physics, Wenzhou University Wenzhou Zhejiang 325035 China
| | - Yongyun Ji
- Department of Physics, Wenzhou University Wenzhou Zhejiang 325035 China
| | - Xianghong Wang
- Department of Physics, Wenzhou University Wenzhou Zhejiang 325035 China
| | - Linli He
- Department of Physics, Wenzhou University Wenzhou Zhejiang 325035 China
| | - Shiben Li
- Department of Physics, Wenzhou University Wenzhou Zhejiang 325035 China
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17
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Feng YH, Zhang XP, Zhao ZQ, Guo XD. Dissipative Particle Dynamics Aided Design of Drug Delivery Systems: A Review. Mol Pharm 2020; 17:1778-1799. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.0c00175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Yun Hao Feng
- Beijing Laboratory of Biomedical Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, P.R. China
- Key Lab of Biomedical Materials of Natural Macromolecules (Beijing University of Chemical Technology), Ministry of Education, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Xiao Peng Zhang
- Beijing Laboratory of Biomedical Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, P.R. China
- Key Lab of Biomedical Materials of Natural Macromolecules (Beijing University of Chemical Technology), Ministry of Education, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Ze Qiang Zhao
- Beijing Laboratory of Biomedical Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, P.R. China
- Key Lab of Biomedical Materials of Natural Macromolecules (Beijing University of Chemical Technology), Ministry of Education, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Xin Dong Guo
- Beijing Laboratory of Biomedical Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, P.R. China
- Key Lab of Biomedical Materials of Natural Macromolecules (Beijing University of Chemical Technology), Ministry of Education, Beijing 100029, China
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18
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Ma L, Bao L, Hu D, Zhao L, Liu T. Effect of interfacial properties on the stability of ultra-dry CO2-in-water (C/W) foams stabilized with zwitterionic surfactants and nonionic/anionic polymers: Experimental and DPD simulation. J Supercrit Fluids 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.supflu.2019.104722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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19
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Hao T, Tan H, Li S, Wang Y, Zhou Z, Yu C, Zhou Y, Yan D. Multilayer onion‐like vesicles self‐assembled from amphiphilic hyperbranched multiarm copolymers via simulation. JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/pol.20190163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Tongfan Hao
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Thermal Aging, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix CompositesShanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai China
- Institute of Green Chemistry and Chemical Technology, School of Chemistry and Chemical EngineeringJiangsu University Zhenjiang China
| | - Haina Tan
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Thermal Aging, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix CompositesShanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai China
| | - Shanlong Li
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Thermal Aging, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix CompositesShanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai China
| | - Yuling Wang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Thermal Aging, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix CompositesShanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai China
| | - Zhiping Zhou
- Institute of Polymer Materials, School of Materials Science and EngineeringJiangsu University Zhenjiang China
| | - Chunyang Yu
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Thermal Aging, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix CompositesShanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai China
| | - Yongfeng Zhou
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Thermal Aging, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix CompositesShanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai China
| | - Deyue Yan
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Thermal Aging, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix CompositesShanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai China
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20
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Ren L, Niu Q, Zhao J, Qiang T. Amphiphilic hyperbranched polymers: synthesis, characterization and self-assembly performance. JOURNAL OF LEATHER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING 2020. [DOI: 10.1186/s42825-019-0015-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Abstract
A series of amphiphilic hyperbranched polymers (AHP-s, the “s” refers to the algebra of AHP) were synthesized by the reaction between hydroxyl-terminated hyperbranched polymers (HBP-s, the “s” refers to the algebra of HBP) and palmitoyl chloride. FTIR, NMR and GPC were used to determine the structure of AHP-s, the results showed that AHP-s exhibits core-shell structure. The thermal properties of polymers were investigated by DSC and TGA. It was found that AHP-2, AHP-3 and AHP-4 display higher thermal stability than AHP-1 (AHP-1, AHP-2, AHP-3 and AHP-4 represent the first, second, third and fourth generation AHP, respectively). Furthermore, the self-assembly performance of AHP-s in THF solvent was investigated by TEM and SEM. Finally, the encapsulation capacity of the AHP-s for methyl orange (MO) was explored at different concentrations of AHP-s and pH conditions. It was found that AHP-s is capable of accommodating hydrophilic guest MO. Moreover, the higher generation of AHP-s, the stronger encapsulation capacity obtained. And the encapsulation capacity closely associated with the pH of encapsulation system.
Graphical abstract
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21
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Shear-induced microstructures and dynamics processes of phospholipid cylinders in solutions. Sci Rep 2019; 9:15393. [PMID: 31659204 PMCID: PMC6817888 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-51933-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2019] [Accepted: 10/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Shear-induced microstructures and their corresponding dynamic processes are investigated for phospholipid cylinders in aqueous solution by dissipative particle dynamic simulation. Various phospholipid cylinders with cross-sections, which are formed under shear-free flow, are selected to examine the effects of shear flow on their structures and dynamic processes. Shear flow induces the transition from cylinders into vesicles at weak rate and the transition into vesicle–lamella mixtures with increased shear rate and lamella structures at the strong shear rate. Then, the average radius of gyration and shape factors of the polymer chains in the dynamic processes are discussed in detail. Results show that shear flow causes the structure of the polymer chains to be elongated along the shear direction, and the configuration of the polymer chain can be rapidly transformed into an ellipsoid structure under strong shear.
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22
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Soultan AH, Lambrechts D, Verheyen T, Van Gorp H, Roeffaers MB, Smet M, De Borggraeve WM, Patterson J. Nanocarrier systems assembled from PEGylated hyperbranched poly(arylene oxindole). Eur Polym J 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2019.07.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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23
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Tan H, Li S, Li K, Yu C, Lu Z, Zhou Y. Shape Transformations of Vesicles Self-Assembled from Amphiphilic Hyperbranched Multiarm Copolymers via Simulation. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2019; 35:6929-6938. [PMID: 30091926 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b02206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The understanding of shape transformations of vesicles is of fundamental importance in biological and clinical sciences. Hyperbranched polymer vesicles (branched polymersomes) are newly emerging polymer vesicles with special structure and property. They have also been regarded as a good model for biomembranes. However, the shape transformations of hyperbranched polymer vesicles have not been studied from either an experimental or theoretical level. Herein, the shape transformations of vesicles self-assembled from amphiphilic hyperbranched multiarm copolymers (HMCs) in response to the interaction parameters between the hydrophobic core and hydrophilic arms and the polymer concentrations are investigated carefully through dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations. In the morphological phase diagram, two types of vesicles are obtained: one type corresponds to vesicles without holes formed at low concentrations including unilamellar vesicles, double-lamellar vesicles, discocyte-shaped vesicles, and tubular vesicles, and the other type corresponds to vesicles with holes formed at high concentrations including stomatocyte-shaped vesicles, toroidal vesicles, genus-3 (G-3) toroidal vesicles with three holes, and genus-4 (G-4) toroidal vesicles with four holes. In addition, both the self-assembly mechanisms and the dynamics for the formation of these vesicles have been systematically studied. The current work will offer theoretical support for fabricating novel vesicles with various shapes from hyperbranched polymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haina Tan
- School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites , Shanghai Jiao Tong University , 800 Dongchuan Road , Shanghai , China 200240
| | - Shanlong Li
- School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites , Shanghai Jiao Tong University , 800 Dongchuan Road , Shanghai , China 200240
| | - Ke Li
- School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites , Shanghai Jiao Tong University , 800 Dongchuan Road , Shanghai , China 200240
| | - Chunyang Yu
- School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites , Shanghai Jiao Tong University , 800 Dongchuan Road , Shanghai , China 200240
| | - Zhongyuan Lu
- Institute of Theoretical Chemistry, State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials , Jilin University , Changchun , China 130021
| | - Yongfeng Zhou
- School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites , Shanghai Jiao Tong University , 800 Dongchuan Road , Shanghai , China 200240
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24
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Hao L, Lin L, Zhou J. pH-Responsive Zwitterionic Copolymer DHA-PBLG-PCB for Targeted Drug Delivery: A Computer Simulation Study. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2019; 35:1944-1953. [PMID: 29692174 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b00626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
In this work, the self-assembled behaviors of zwitterionic copolymer docosahexaenoic acid- b-poly(γ-benzyl-l-glutamate)- b-poly(carboxybetaine methacrylate) (DHA-PBLG-PCB) and the loading and release mechanism of the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) was investigated via computer simulations. The effects of polymer concentration, drug content, and pH on polymeric micelles were explored by dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations. Simulation results show that DHA-PBLG15-PCB10 can self-assemble into core-shell micelles; in addition, the drug-loaded micelles have a pH-responsive feature. DOX can be encapsulated into the core-shell micelle under normal physiological pH conditions, whereas it can be released under acidic pH conditions. The self-assembled behaviors of copolymer DHA-PBLG-PEG were also studied to have a comparison with those of DHA-PBLG-PCB. The DHA-PBLG15-PCB10 system has a stable structure and it has a great potential to serve as drug delivery vehicles for targeted drug delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingxia Hao
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab for Green Chemical Product Technology , South China University of Technology , Guangzhou , Guangdong 510640 , People's Republic of China
| | - Lin Lin
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab for Green Chemical Product Technology , South China University of Technology , Guangzhou , Guangdong 510640 , People's Republic of China
| | - Jian Zhou
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab for Green Chemical Product Technology , South China University of Technology , Guangzhou , Guangdong 510640 , People's Republic of China
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25
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Shan Y, Wang X, Ji Y, He L, Li S. Self-assembly of phospholipid molecules in solutions under shear flows: Microstructures and phase diagrams. J Chem Phys 2019; 149:244901. [PMID: 30599738 DOI: 10.1063/1.5056229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Shear-induced microstructures and their phase diagrams were investigated for phospholipid molecules in aqueous solution by dissipative particle dynamic simulation. Self-assembled microstructures, including spherical and cylindrical micelles, spherical vesicles, lamellae, undulated lamellae, perforated lamellae, and continuous networks, were observed under various shear flows and phospholipid concentrations, where the spatial inhomogeneity and symmetry were analysed. A series of phase diagrams were constructed based on the chain lengths under various phospholipid concentrations. The phase distributions showed that the structures with spherical symmetry could be shear-induced to structures with cylindrical symmetry in the dilute solutions. In the semi-concentrated solutions, the lamellae were located in most spaces under zero shear flows, which could be shear-induced into undulated lamellae and then into cylindrical micelles. For the concentrated solutions, the strong shear flows oriented the directions of multilayer lamellae and phase transitions appeared between several cylindrical network structures. These observations on shear-induced microstructures and their distributions revealed a promising approach that could be used to design bio-microstructures based on phospholipid molecules under shear flows.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Shan
- Department of Physics, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325035, China
| | - Xianghong Wang
- Department of Physics, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325035, China
| | - Yongyun Ji
- Department of Physics, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325035, China
| | - Linli He
- Department of Physics, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325035, China
| | - Shiben Li
- Department of Physics, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325035, China
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26
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Yuan C, Chen A, Zhang B, Zhao N. Activity–crowding coupling effect on the diffusion dynamics of a self-propelled particle in polymer solutions. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2019; 21:24112-24125. [DOI: 10.1039/c9cp04498a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The anomalous diffusion dynamics of an active particle in polymer solutions is studied based on a Langevin Brownian dynamics simulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengli Yuan
- College of Chemistry
- Sichuan University
- Chengdu 610064
- China
| | - Anpu Chen
- College of Chemistry
- Sichuan University
- Chengdu 610064
- China
| | - Bingjie Zhang
- College of Chemistry
- Sichuan University
- Chengdu 610064
- China
| | - Nanrong Zhao
- College of Chemistry
- Sichuan University
- Chengdu 610064
- China
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27
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Lv Y, Wang L, Wu F, Gong S, Wei J, Lin S. Self-assembly and stimuli-responsive behaviours of side-chain liquid crystalline copolymers: a dissipative particle dynamics simulation approach. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2019; 21:7645-7653. [DOI: 10.1039/c9cp00400a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Side-chain liquid crystalline copolymers are able to self-assemble into various aggregates in selective solvents, in particular, deformed structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yisheng Lv
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Polymeric Materials
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering
- Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education
- School of Materials Science and Engineering
- East China University of Science and Technology
| | - Liquan Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Polymeric Materials
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering
- Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education
- School of Materials Science and Engineering
- East China University of Science and Technology
| | - Fangsheng Wu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Polymeric Materials
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering
- Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education
- School of Materials Science and Engineering
- East China University of Science and Technology
| | - Shuting Gong
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Polymeric Materials
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering
- Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education
- School of Materials Science and Engineering
- East China University of Science and Technology
| | - Jie Wei
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Polymeric Materials
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering
- Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education
- School of Materials Science and Engineering
- East China University of Science and Technology
| | - Shaoliang Lin
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Polymeric Materials
- State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering
- Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education
- School of Materials Science and Engineering
- East China University of Science and Technology
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28
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Chen A, Zhao N. Comparative study of the crowding-induced collapse effect in hard-sphere, flexible polymer and rod-like polymer systems. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2019; 21:12335-12345. [DOI: 10.1039/c9cp01731c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
A systematic Langevin simulation is performed to study the crowding-induced collapse effect on a probed chain in three typical systems: hard sphere (HS), flexible polymer and rod-like polymer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anpu Chen
- College of Chemistry
- Sichuan University
- Chengdu 610064
- China
| | - Nanrong Zhao
- College of Chemistry
- Sichuan University
- Chengdu 610064
- China
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29
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Inokuchi T, Arai N. Relationship between water permeation and flip-flop motion in a bilayer membrane. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2018; 20:28155-28161. [PMID: 30387788 DOI: 10.1039/c8cp04610g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The lipid bilayer membrane facilitates various biological reactions and is thus an essential structure that sustains all higher forms of life. The unique local environment of the lipid bilayer plays critical roles for the diffusion of biomolecules as well as water molecules in biological reactions. Although fluctuation of the cell membrane is expected to allow for the transport of some water molecules, the flip-flop of lipid molecules corresponds to lipid transport between membrane leaflets, and is considered to be an important process to regulate the lipid composition of biological membranes. However, the relationship between these flip-flop phenomena and surrounding water molecules remains poorly understood. We hypothesized that the flip-flop is caused by water molecules permeating through the cell membrane. To test this hypothesis, we used millisecond-order coarse-grained molecular simulations (dissipative particle dynamics) to investigate the distance between water molecules and lipid molecules depending on the position of the lipid molecule. The results clearly showed that water molecules affect the flip-flop motion in the early stage, but have minimal contribution to the subsequent behavior. Moreover, based on the results of dissipative particle dynamics simulation, we computed several first-passage-time (FPT) quantities to describe the detailed dynamics of water permeation. We modeled arrangements in the middle of the flip-flop process, which were compared with the arrangement without lipid molecules. Overall, our results indicate that lipid molecules located both in perpendicular and parallel arrangements largely affect water permeation. These findings provide new insight into the detailed relationship between water permeation and the flip-flop motion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takuya Inokuchi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kindai University, 3-4-1 Kowakae, Higashiosaka, Osaka 577-8502, Japan
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30
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Liu X, Bai X, Li J, Wang C, Ren Q. Synthesis and characterization of amphiphilic graft copolymers with poly(ethylene glycol) as the hydrophilic backbone and poly(butyl methacrylate) as the hydrophobic graft chain. Colloid Polym Sci 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s00396-018-4369-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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31
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Shavykin OV, Leermakers FAM, Neelov IM, Darinskii AA. Self-Assembly of Lysine-Based Dendritic Surfactants Modeled by the Self-Consistent Field Approach. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2018; 34:1613-1626. [PMID: 29286663 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b03825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Implementing a united atom model, we apply self-consistent field theory to study structure and thermodynamic properties of spherical micelles composed of surfactants that combine an alkyl tail with a charged lysine-based dendritic headgroup. Following experiments, the focus was on dendron surfactants with varying tail length and dendron generations G0, G1, G2. The heads are subject to acetylation modification which reduces the charge and hydrophilicity. We establish a reasonable parameter set which results in semiquantitative agreement with the available experiments. The critical micellization concentration, aggregation number, and micelle size are discussed. The strongly charged dendronic surfactants micelles are stable for generation numbers G0 and G1, for progressively higher ionic strengths. Associates of G2 surfactants are very small and can only be found at extreme surfactant concentration and salt strengths. Micelles of corresponding weaker charged acetylated variants exist up to G2, tolerate significantly lower salt concentrations, but lose the spherical micelle topology for G0 at high ionic strengths.
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Affiliation(s)
- O V Shavykin
- St. Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics (ITMO University), Kronverkskiy pr. 49, St. Petersburg 197101, Russia
| | - F A M Leermakers
- Physical Chemistry and Soft Matter, Wageningen University , 6703 HB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - I M Neelov
- St. Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics (ITMO University), Kronverkskiy pr. 49, St. Petersburg 197101, Russia
- Institute of Macromolecular Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences , Bolshoi Prospect 31, V.O., St. Petersburg 199004, Russia
| | - A A Darinskii
- St. Petersburg National Research University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics (ITMO University), Kronverkskiy pr. 49, St. Petersburg 197101, Russia
- Institute of Macromolecular Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences , Bolshoi Prospect 31, V.O., St. Petersburg 199004, Russia
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32
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Wang H, Tang X, Eike DM, Larson RG, Koenig PH. Scission Free Energies for Wormlike Surfactant Micelles: Development of a Simulation Protocol, Application, and Validation for Personal Care Formulations. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2018; 34:1564-1573. [PMID: 29244513 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b03552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
We present a scheme to calculate wormlike micelle scission free energies from a potential of mean force (PMF) derived from a weighted histogram analysis method (WHAM) applied to coarse grained dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations. In contrast to previous related work, we use a specially chosen external potential based on a reaction coordinate that reversibly drives surfactants out of the nascent scission location. For the application to a model body wash formulation, we predict how addition of NaCl and small molecules such as perfume raw materials (PRMs) affect scission energies. The results show qualitative agreement and correct trends compared to recently determined scission energies for the same system; however, a more rigorous parametrization of the underlying DPD potential is required for quantitative agreement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huan Wang
- University of Cincinnati Simulation Center , 2728 Vine Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45220, United States
| | - Xueming Tang
- Department of Chemical Engineering, 2800 Plymouth Road, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - David M Eike
- Computational Chemistry, Modeling and Simulation, The Procter & Gamble Company , 8611 Beckett Road, West Chester, Ohio 45069, United States
| | - Ronald G Larson
- Department of Chemical Engineering, 2800 Plymouth Road, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - Peter H Koenig
- Computational Chemistry, Modeling and Simulation, The Procter & Gamble Company , 8611 Beckett Road, West Chester, Ohio 45069, United States
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33
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Wang J, Li J, Yao Q, Sun X, Yan Y, Zhang J. One-pot production of porous assemblies by PISA of star architecture copolymers: a simulation study. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2018; 20:10069-10076. [DOI: 10.1039/c8cp00480c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Porous vesicles can be produced in one-pot by the PISA of star architecture copolymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junfeng Wang
- College of Science
- China University of Petroleum (East China)
- Qingdao
- People's Republic of China
| | - Jiawei Li
- College of Science
- China University of Petroleum (East China)
- Qingdao
- People's Republic of China
| | - Qiang Yao
- College of Science
- China University of Petroleum (East China)
- Qingdao
- People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaoli Sun
- College of Science
- China University of Petroleum (East China)
- Qingdao
- People's Republic of China
| | - Youguo Yan
- College of Science
- China University of Petroleum (East China)
- Qingdao
- People's Republic of China
| | - Jun Zhang
- College of Science
- China University of Petroleum (East China)
- Qingdao
- People's Republic of China
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