Self-complementary hydrogen-bond interactions of guanosine: a hub for constructing supra-amphiphilic polymers with controlled molecular structure and aggregate morphology?

Soft Matter Pub Date: 2018-11-20 DOI: 10.1039/C8SM02172D

Abstract

A supra-amphiphilic polymer (SAP) with controlled molecular structures is constructed, in this work, via self-complementary hydrogen bonding of guanosine groups between a hydrophilic block, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), and a hydrophobic block, poly(ε-caprolactone). By simply changing the mixing ratio of the guanosine-capped hydrophilic and hydrophobic blocks, a series of SAPs with tailored nanostructures are constructed, which can further self-assemble into different nano-aggregates in solution, including spheres, vesicles and large vesicle micelles. The thermo-induced phase transition of the hydrophilic block induces the fusion and aggregation of the nanoparticles into irregular particles upon heating, which further transform to large compound vesicles after cooling.

Graphical abstract: Self-complementary hydrogen-bond interactions of guanosine: a hub for constructing supra-amphiphilic polymers with controlled molecular structure and aggregate morphology
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