Self-assembly of dextran - b - deoxycholic acid polyester copolymers: Copolymer composition and self-assembly procedure tune the aggregate size and morphology

Marieta Nichifor; Magdalena Cristina Stanciu; Florica Doroftei

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.117147

Self-assembly of dextran - b - deoxycholic acid polyester copolymers: Copolymer composition and self-assembly procedure tune the aggregate size and morphology

Carbohydr Polym. 2021 Jan 15:252:117147. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.117147. Epub 2020 Sep 28.

Authors

Marieta Nichifor¹, Magdalena Cristina Stanciu², Florica Doroftei²

Affiliations

¹ "Petru Poni" Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Aleea Gr. Ghica Voda 41 A, Iasi, 700457, Romania. Electronic address: nichifor@icmpp.ro.
² "Petru Poni" Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Aleea Gr. Ghica Voda 41 A, Iasi, 700457, Romania.

PMID: 33183605
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.117147

Abstract

Self-assembly potential of new amphiphilic block copolymers containing dextran (M_n 4500, 8000, 15,000) and a semi-rigid deoxycholic acid-oligoethyleneglycol polyester (M_n 2500-8800, 2 or 4 ethyleneglycol units), was evaluated as a function of copolymer composition and self-assembly procedure, using dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy. Addition of copolymer solution to water provided small star-like micelles (∼ 100 nm), while addition of water to copolymer solution led to various morphologies and sizes (60-600 nm), depending on polymer composition. Worm-like micelles were obtained from a copolymer containing dextran with M_n 4500 and 66 wt% polyester, and vesicles were formed by copolymers prepared from dextran with M_n 8000 and containing 46 wt% polyester. Presence of a longer oligoethyleneglycol decreased the size of micelles and vesicles due to an enhanced flexibility of the polyester hydrophobic block. The results allow the selection of the most appropriate parameters to obtain the desired aggregate characteristics.

Keywords: Bile acids; Block-copolymers; Dextran; Morphology; Self-assembly.