Luo Yingtong, Wang Jianhong, Li Yudong, Yeşil Gür Işıl, Hendrix Marco M R M, Sümbelli Yiğitcan, Fusi Alexander, Voets Ilja K, Abdelmohsen Loai K E A, Shao Jingxin, van Hest Jan C M
Bio-Organic Chemistry, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems (ICMS), Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Self-Organizing Soft Matter, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry & Institute of Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
J Am Chem Soc. 2025 Aug 6;147(31):28189-28197. doi: 10.1021/jacs.5c08355. Epub 2025 Jul 22.
Organic photothermal agents (OPTAs) are extensively utilized in applications such as therapy and imaging. However, enhancing their photothermal performance often depends on complex molecular designs, which are limited by the challenges of chemical synthesis. Herein, we present a straightforward strategy to optimize the optical absorbance of OPTAs by adjusting the morphology of assemblies of an amphiphilic block copolymer (PEG-PTA), leading to enhanced photothermal conversion efficiency. By changing the polarity of the organic solvent in which the polymer was dissolved, addition of water to induce assembly led to the exclusive formation of polymersomes or bicontinuous nanospheres. The morphological variations were confirmed using a range of electron microscopy techniques and small-angle X-ray scattering. Due to their mesoporous structure, the bicontinuous nanospheres exhibited superior light-harvesting capabilities, achieving a high absorption coefficient of 1.1 × 10 M cm and a photothermal conversion efficiency of 45% when irradiated with a 808 nm laser. Our work introduces a facile solvent-induced assembly strategy for precisely controlling the morphology of OPTAs while simultaneously tuning their light absorption properties to enhance photothermal conversion.
有机光热剂（OPTAs）广泛应用于治疗和成像等领域。然而，提高它们的光热性能通常依赖于复杂的分子设计，而这受到化学合成挑战的限制。在此，我们提出一种简单的策略，通过调节两亲性嵌段共聚物（PEG-PTA）聚集体的形态来优化OPTAs的光吸收，从而提高光热转换效率。通过改变聚合物溶解所在有机溶剂的极性，加水诱导组装导致仅形成聚合物囊泡或双连续纳米球。使用一系列电子显微镜技术和小角X射线散射证实了形态变化。由于其介孔结构，双连续纳米球表现出优异的光捕获能力，在用808nm激光照射时，实现了1.1×10 M cm的高吸收系数和45%的光热转换效率。我们的工作引入了一种简便的溶剂诱导组装策略，用于精确控制OPTAs的形态，同时调节其光吸收特性以增强光热转换。
