Guo Yujie, Xia Tianlai, Walter Vivien, Xie Yujie, Rho Julia Y, Xiao Laihui, O'Reilly Rachel K, Wallace Mark I
Department of Chemistry, King's College London, London, UK.
School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Nat Commun. 2025 Mar 18;16(1):2672. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-57776-9.
Living crystallization-driven self-assembly (CDSA) of semicrystalline block copolymers is a powerful method for the bottom-up construction of uniform polymer microstructures with complex hierarchies. Improving our ability to engineer such complex particles demands a better understanding of how to precisely control the self-assembly process. Here, we apply interferometric scattering (iSCAT) microscopy to observe the real-time growth of individual poly(ε-caprolactone)-based fibers and platelets. This label-free method enables us to map the role of key reaction parameters on platelet growth rate, size, and morphology. Furthermore, iSCAT provides a contrast mechanism for studying multi-annulus platelets formed via the sequential addition of different unimers, offering insights into the spatial distribution of polymer compositions within a single platelet.
半结晶嵌段共聚物的活性结晶驱动自组装（CDSA）是一种自下而上构建具有复杂层次结构的均匀聚合物微结构的强大方法。提高我们设计此类复杂颗粒的能力需要更好地理解如何精确控制自组装过程。在此，我们应用干涉散射（iSCAT）显微镜来观察基于聚（ε-己内酯）的单个纤维和血小板的实时生长。这种无标记方法使我们能够描绘关键反应参数对血小板生长速率、尺寸和形态的作用。此外，iSCAT为研究通过顺序添加不同单体形成的多环血小板提供了一种对比机制，有助于深入了解单个血小板内聚合物组成的空间分布。
