Advantages of block copolymer synthesis by RAFT-controlled dispersion polymerization in supercritical carbon dioxide

Reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT)-controlled block copolymer synthesis using dispersion polymerization in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) shows unprecedented control over blocking efficiency. For PMMA-b-PBzMA and PMMA-b-PSt the blocking efficiency was quantified by measuring homopolymer contaminants using the techniques of GPC deconvolution, gradient polymer elution chromatography (GPEC), and GPC dual RI/UV detection. A new, promising method was also developed which combined GPC deconvolution and GPEC. All techniques showed that blocking efficiency was significantly improved by reducing the radical concentration and target molecular weight. Estimated values agreed well with (and occasionally exceeded) theory for PMMA-b-PBzMA. The heterogeneous process in scCO2 appeared to cause little or no further hindrance to the block copolymerization procedure when reaction conditions were optimized. High blocking efficiencies were achieved (up to 82%) even at high conversion of MMA (>95%) and high molecular weight. These data compare favorably to numerous published reports of heterogeneous syntheses of block copolymers

Synthèse de copolymères à bloc thermosensibles-fonctionnalisés par un chromophore par polymérisation raft : comportement à l’interface air-eau et en solution aqueuse

Les copolymères à blocs di-hydrophiles contenant un bloc thermosensible reçoivent une attention croissante grâce à leur capacité d’auto-organisation en micelles induite par une variation de température. Néanmoins, peu de travaux ont été consacrés à l’étude de leur conformation par fluorescence et de leur dynamique à l’interface air-eau et en solution aqueuse. Dans ce travail, des copolymères à blocs composés d’un bloc thermosensible deN,N-diéthylacrylamide (DEA) et d’un bloc hydrophile de N,N-diméthylacrylamide (DMA) ou d’un bloc réactif [copolymère statistique de DMA et de N-acryloxysuccinimide (NAS)] ont été synthétisés par polymérisation RAFT. Ces copolymères à blocs ont été fonctionnalisés à leur extrémité hydrophile par un chromophore, Rhodamine B ou Vert de Malachite, via une stratégie de pré- ou de postpolymérisation. Dans le premier cas, des dérivés aminés de Rhodamine B et Vert de Malachite ont été synthétisés pour l’élaboration d’agents de transfert de chaîne (ATC) marqués, ce qui permet directement l’obtention de copolymères à blocs alpha-fonctionnalisés par un chromophore. En parallèle, des copolymères à blocs ont été préparés via l’utilisation d’un ATC précurseur puis fonctionnalisés ultérieurement par les dérivés aminés des chromophores. Le comportement thermosensible de ces polymères et d’un copolymère à blocs amphiphile de DEA et de N-décylacrylamide a été étudié à l’interface air-eau et en films de Langmuir-Blodgett par AFM et microscopie confocale de fluorescence. Des études d’émission et d’anisotropie de fluorescence, de diffusion de lumière et de RMN 1H ont été réalisées pour étudier leur comportement en solution aqueuseDouble hydrophilic diblock copolymers comprising a thermoresponsive block have gained increasing attention due to their capability of self-assembling in micelles by a temperature change. However, very few fluorescence studies were devoted to investigate their conformation and dynamics both at the air-water interface and in aqueous solutions. In this work, block copolymers composed of a thermoresponsive block of N,N- iethylacrylamide (DEA) and a hydrophilic block of N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMA) or a reactive block [statistical copolymer of DMA and N-acryloxysuccinimide (NAS)] were prepared by RAFT polymerization. These block copolymers were functionalized at the hydrophilic chain-end by a Rhodamine B or Malachite Green dye using either a pre- or a post-polymerization strategy. In the first case, Rhodamine B and Malachite Green amino derivatives were synthesized for the preparation of dyelabelled chain transfer agent (CTA), which led directly the alpha-dye-labelled block copolymers. Alternatively, the block copolymers were prepared using a precursor CTA and further functionalized with the dye amino derivative. The thermoresponsive behaviour of these polymers and of amphiphilic block copolymers of DEA and N-decylacrylamide was studied at the air-water interface and in Langmuir-Blodgett films using AFM and confocal fluorescence microscopy. Fluorescence emission and anisotropy, light scattering and 1H NMR studies were performed to investigate their behaviour in aqueous solutions

Dye-labelled polymer chains at specific sites: Synthesis by living/controlled polymerization

International audienceDye-labelled polymer chains are extremely useful in many fields, such as optical imaging, signal amplification in biological diagnostics, light-harvesting and photochromic materials as well as in fluorescence studies about intra- and inter-molecular polymer chain associations, conformations and dynamics of polymer chains. However, in many cases, it is particularly useful that the dye is localized at a specific site, such as the chain-end or the junction between blocks. With the development of living/controlled polymerization techniques, end- and junction-functionalized polymers can be prepared with controlled molecular weights from a huge variety of monomers. This review highlights the state of the art in the strategies leading to one and only one precisely localized dye per polymer chain. Such dye can be introduced at three different steps of the polymerization: i) at the very beginning via the initiator or a chain transfer agent, ii) during polymerization via a functional monomer or a quencher, or iii) after polymerization via covalent binding of a dye-derivative

Fluorescence Anisotropy of Hydrophobic Probes in Poly(N-decylacrylamide)-block-poly(N,N-diethylacrylamide) Block Copolymer Aqueous Solutions: Evidence of Premicellar Aggregates

International audienceFluorescent probes, coumarin 153 (C153) and octadecylrhodamine B (ORB), were used to study the self-assembly in water of poly(N-decylacrylamide)-block-poly(N,N-diethylacrylamide), (PDcA(11)-block-PDEA(295); M-n = 40 300 g mol(-1), M-w/M-n = 1.01). From the variation of both the fluorescence intensity and the solvatochromic shifts of C153 with polymer concentration, the critical micelle concentration (CMC) was determined as 1 8 +/- 0.1 mu M On the other hand, steady-state anisotropy measurements showed the presence of premicellar aggregates below the CMC Time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy evidenced that ORB is located in the premicellar aggregates and the micelle core, while C153 is partitioned between the aggregates and the water phase The micelle core contains both semicrystalline and amorphous regions In the semicrystalline regions the probes cannot rotate, while in the amorphous regions the rotational correlation times correlate well with the hydrodynamic volume of the probes. The amorphous region of the micelle core is relatively fluid, reflecting the large free-volume accessible to the probes

Colloidal systems for drug delivery: from design to therapy

International audienc

RAFT polymerization and self-assembly of thermoresponsive poly(N-decylacrylamide-b-N,N-diethylacrylamide) block copolymers bearing a phenanthrene fluorescent alpha-end group

Phenanthrene -end-labeled poly(N-decylacrylamide)n-b-poly(N,N-diethylacrylamide)m (PDcAn-b-PDEAm) block copolymers consisting in a highly hydrophobic block (n=11) and a thermoresponsive block with variable length (79 ≤m≤ 468) were synthesized by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. A new phenanthrene-labeled chain transfer agent (CTA) was synthesized and used to control the RAFT polymerization of a hydrophobic acrylamide derivative, N-decylacrylamide (DcA). This first block was further used as macroCTA to polymerize N,N-diethylacrylamide (DEA) in order to prepare diblock copolymers with the same hydrophobic block of PDcA (number average molecular weight: Mn = 2720 g mol-1, polydispersity index: Mw/Mn = 1.13) and various PDEA blocks of several lengths (Mn = 10000 to 60000 g mol-1) with a very high blocking efficiency. The resulting copolymers self-assemble in water forming thermoresponsive micelles. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) was determined using the Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between phenanthrene linked at the end of the PDcA block and anthracene added to the solution at a low concentration (10-5 M), based on the fact that energy transfer only occurs when phenanthrene and anthracene are located in the core of the micelle. The CMC (~ 2 M) was obtained at the polymer concentration where the anthracene fluorescence intensity starts to increase. The size of the polymer micelles decreases with temperature increase around the lower critical solution temperature of PDEA in water (LCST~32 ºC) owing to the thermoresponsiveness of the PDEA shell

Novel Malachite Green- and Rhodamine B-labeled cationic chain transfer agents for RAFT polymerization

International audienceTwo novel cationic RAFT agents have been synthesized, one labeled with a Malachite Green (MG) dye and another with a Rhodamine B (RhoB) dye. MG-labeled dithiobenzoate (MGEDBA) was prepared in a straightforward manner after synthesis of MG-ethylammonium chloride that reacted with a precursor dithiobenzoate bearing an activated ester function. However, the analogous reaction with RhoB amino derivative led to a mixture of dithiobenzoate and thioamide derivatives. An alternative approach yielded the RhoB-labeled RAFT agent (RhoBEDBA) with complete conversion. The purification of these dye-labeled RAFT agents was very challenging because of their dual nature (aromatic and ionic). Both MGEDBA and RhoBEDBA were efficient RAFT chain transfer agents to control the polymerization of N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMA). The resulting α-end-labeled MG- and RhoB-PDMA samples presented low dispersities (Đ<1.2) and both chain-ends were preserved. Finally, we showed that the attachment of RhoB and MG to the PDMA polymer chain-end did not influence the photophysical properties of these dyes. Therefore, these new dye-labeled RAFT agents can be used to prepare various labeled polymers and especially water-soluble ones, to study their conformation and dynamics in solution or at interfaces using fluorescence methods, or as labeled probes for imaging and/or diagnosis purposes

Understanding the Role of ω‑End Groups and Molecular Weight in the Interaction of PNIPAM with Gold Surfaces

Modification of nanoparticle surfaces by adsorption or grafting of polymers allows fine control of hybrid materials properties for diverse applications. To obtain such a control, it is of paramount importance to understand the impact of the polymer structure on the nature and strength of its interaction with the nanoparticle. We investigated here a simple model of hybrid materials made of poly­(<i>N</i>-isopropylacrylamide) of different molar masses and end groups interacting with gold surfaces. A series of poly­(<i>N</i>-isopropylacrylamide) with number-average molar masses ranging from 3700 to 10000 g·mol^–1 were synthesized by reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer/macromolecular design by interchange of xanthates (RAFT/MADIX). The terminal xanthate group was then reduced into either a thiol or a hydrogen group. Quartz crystal microbalance adsorption/desorption experiments demonstrated that the polymer termini have a strong impact on the mechanism of polymer adsorption on flat gold surfaces. These differences in polymer structure have, in return, a strong influence on the colloidal stability and growth mechanism of nanoparticles when directly synthesized in polymer solution. For those properties, the effect of xanthate group compared very favorably to the conventional thiol moiety. Interestingly, the properties of nanohybrids were poorly affected by the molar mass of the polymer

: Schizophrenic Behavior of a Thermoresponsive Double Hydrophilic Diblock Copolymer at the Air-Water Interface

The thermoresponsive behavior of the rhodamine B end-labeled double hydrophilic block copolymer (DHBC) poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide)-b-poly(N,N-diethylacrylamide) (RhB-PDMA207-b-PDEA177) and the 1:1 segmental mixture of PDEA and rhodamine B end-labeled PDMA homopolymers was studied over the range of 10-40°C at the air-water interface. The increase in collapse surface pressure (second plateau regime) of the DHBC with temperature confirms the thermoresponsiveness of PDEA at the interface. The sum of the π-A isotherms of the two single homopolymers weighted by composition closely follows the π-A isotherm of the DHBC, suggesting that the behavior of each block of the DHBC is not influenced by the presence of the other block. Langmuir-Blodgett monolayers of DHBC deposited on glass substrates were analyzed by laser scanning confocal fluorescence microscopy (LSCFM), showing schizophrenic behavior: at low temperature, the RhB-PDMA block dominates the inside of bright (core) microdomains, switching to the outside (shell) at temperatures above the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of PDEA. This core-shell inversion triggered by the temperature increase was not detected in the homopolymer mixture. The present results suggest that both the covalent bond between the two blocks of the DHBC and the tendency of rhodamine B to aggregate play a role in the formation of the bright cores at low temperature whereas PDEA thermoaggregation is responsible for the formation of the dark cores above the LCST of PDEA

Effect of the microstructure of n-butyl acrylate/N-isopropylacrylamide copolymers on their thermo-responsiveness, self-organization and gel properties in water

International audienceAbstractHypothesisPolymer composition, microstructure, molar mass, architecture… critically affect the properties of thermoresponsive polymers in aqueous media.ExperimentsThe behaviour of n-isopropylacrylamide and n-butyl acrylate-based copolymers of variable composition and structure (statistical, diblock or triblock) was studied in solution at different temperatures and concentrations with turbidimetry measurements, differential scanning calorimetry, electronic microscopy, rheology and scattering experiments.FindingsThis study illustrates how it is possible through chemical engineering of the microstructure of amphiphilic thermoresponsive polymers to modulate significantly the self-assembly, morphological and mechanical properties of these materials in aqueous media. Statistical structures induced a strong decrease of cloud point temperature compared to block structures with similar composition. Moreover, block structures lead below the transition temperature to the formation of colloidal structures. Above the transition temperature, the formation of colloidal aggregates is observed at low concentrations, and at higher concentrations the formation of gels. Neutron scattering and light scattering measurements show that for a given composition diblock structures lead to smaller colloids and mesoglobules than their triblock counterparts. Moreover, diblock structures, compared to triblock analogs, allow the formation of gels that do not demix with time (no synaeresis) but that are softer than triblock gels.Graphical abstractThe microstructural engineering of amphiphilic thermoresponsive copolymers of n-butyl acrylate and N-isopropylacrylamide allows significant modulations of the self-assembly, morphological and mechanical properties of these materials in aqueous media