While amphiphilic block copolymers have demonstrated their utility for a range of practical applications, the behavior of cyclic block copolymers remains largely unexplored due to limited synthetic access. In order to investigate their unique behavior, cyclic copolymers base on biocompatible polyethylene glycol (PEG)and biodegradable polycaprolactone (PCL), were synthesized by a combination of ring opening polymerization and azide-alkyne click chemistry. In addition, exactly analogous linear block copolymers have been prepared as control samples to elucidate the role of polymer architecture in their self-assembly and acid-catalyzed degradation. The self-assembly of cyclic and linear PEG-PCL block copolymers show that both linear and cyclic PEG-PCL can form micelles in aqueous solution, though the cyclic micelles are notably smaller. Meanwhile cyclic PEG-PCL shows a longer degradation time than linear analogs due to unique properties of the cyclic topology.  The combination of reduced size and unique degradation behavior suggests that they may be useful stimuli-responsive materials in the field of drug delivery carriers and these will be explored in future studies.

Exploring amphiphilic copolymer architectures with cyclic topology base on poly(ethylene gylcol) and polycaprolactone: Synthesis, characterization, and self-assembly behavior

247th National Meeting (2014)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.