Langevin Dynamics Simulation of Amphiphilic Linear-Dendritic Block Copolymer Self-Assembly

摘要

A rich variety of block copolymers combining linear polymers and dendrons are being synthesized to create novel building blocks for assembling nanostructured materials. Examples of linear-dendritic block copolymers include poly(ethylene oxide) with either a polylysine or polyester dendron, polystyrene with a poly(propylene imine) dendron, cholesterol-L-lactic acid with a L-lysine dendron, and a triblock copolymer consisting of poly(propylene oxide) with two poly(amido amine) dendrons. The inclusion of dendritic moieties gives the resulting linear-dendritic block copolymer the combined advantages of low molecular weight surfactants and higher molecular weight amphiphilic block copolymers. The generation of the dendritic block can be varied to manipulate the aggregate morphology, in analogy with varying the relative size/shape of the head and tail groups in a surfactant. Meanwhile, the higher molecular weight of the building block lends stability to the assembled structure. Another advantage, being exploited in areas such as drug, gene delivery, and immunology, is that the precise, branched structure of the dendrons provides ample opportunity for attaching drugs and targeting ligands.