Jumeaux Coline, Chapman Robert, Chandrawati Rona, Stevens Molly M
Department of Materials, Department of Bioengineering, and Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
Polym Chem. 2015 May 6;6(22):4116-4122. doi: 10.1039/C5PY00483G.
Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) is a biocompatible, water-soluble polymer with unique physicochemical properties and attractive biological features that has found widespread use in several industries. Owing to advances in controlled polymerisation techniques, PVP can be easily synthesised with robust control over its architecture. However, the synthesis of PVP copolymers, which can allow tailoring of its properties and expand the scope of this polymeric material, is challenging and rarely reported. Here, we demonstrate the synthesis of well-defined, temperature-responsive polyvinylpyrrolidone--poly(triethylene glycol methacrylate) (PVP--pTEGMA) block copolymers successive Reversible Addition-Fragmentation chain Transfer (RAFT) and Activators ReGenerated by Electron Transfer Atom Transfer Radical Polymerisation (ARGET-ATRP) techniques. We show that PVP--pTEGMA block copolymers display temperature-responsive behaviour and self-assemble above their cloud point temperature (T) to form spherical nanostructures of 100-200 nm in diameter. Finally, we demonstrate stabilisation of these assemblies below their T by cross-linking through the PVP block.
聚乙烯吡咯烷酮（PVP）是一种具有生物相容性的水溶性聚合物，具有独特的物理化学性质和吸引人的生物学特性，已在多个行业中广泛应用。由于可控聚合技术的进步，PVP可以很容易地合成，并且对其结构有很强的控制能力。然而，合成PVP共聚物具有挑战性且鲜有报道，而PVP共聚物能够使其性能得到定制并扩大这种聚合物材料的应用范围。在此，我们展示了通过连续的可逆加成-断裂链转移（RAFT）和电子转移活化剂再生原子转移自由基聚合（ARGET-ATRP）技术合成结构明确的、温度响应性的聚乙烯吡咯烷酮-聚（甲基丙烯酸三乙二醇酯）（PVP-pTEGMA）嵌段共聚物。我们表明，PVP-pTEGMA嵌段共聚物表现出温度响应行为，并在其浊点温度（T）以上自组装形成直径为100-200nm的球形纳米结构。最后，我们通过PVP嵌段交联证明了这些组装体在其T以下的稳定性。
