Self-assembly is critical to life itself, and in the context of polymer chemistry this typically means the aggregation of amphiphilic diblock copolymers. Historically, these systems have been thought to be, by necessity, amphiphilic in nature, made from block copolymers in which one block is hydrophilic and the other is hydrophobic, where these segments aggregate in solution (potentially triggered by a change in, for example, concentration, ionic composition, or temperature) to yield micelles, vesicles, or capsule structures. Recently, however, we have been able to show that we can achieve self-assembly with double hydrophilic block copolymers (DHBCs) driven by a hydrophilic effect. We have synthesized block copolymer from polysaccharides, polypeptoids, and polyethylene oxide to yield high molar mass diblock copolymers (20 to 40 kg mol<sup>-1</sup>) through oxime chemistry. These DHBCs can easily yield nanosized (&lt;500 nm) and microsized (5 - &gt;20 µm) polymeric capsules depending on concentration and diblock composition. Using a functional initiator, we can easily make triblock and gradient copolymers of polypeptoids that when coupled to polysaccharides yield stimuli responsive, functionalizable, and crosslinkable superstructures. Because of the hydrophilic nature of these materials, we expect them to be extraordinarily water permeable systems, which in combination of their functionalizability and stimuli responsiveness would be well suited for use as cellular mimics.

Self-assembly of giant polymer capsules with purely hydrophilic polymers: The hydrophilic effect

249th National Meeting (2015)

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