(364h) Understanding Molecular Exchange Kinetics in Polyelectrolyte Complex Micelles
AIChE Annual Meeting
2017
2017 Annual Meeting
Materials Engineering and Sciences Division
Inhomogeneous Polymers
Tuesday, October 31, 2017 - 2:30pm to 2:45pm
In this work, we developed a PEC micelle platform that is formed by a diblock copolyelectrolyte, poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) block poly(vinylbenzyl trimethylammonium chloride) (PEO-b-PVBTMA), and a homopolyelectrolyte poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS), with specifically tailored block lengths and change densities. The structural stability and molecular kinetics in this system were studied using microscopy, dynamic light scattering, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering (TR-SANS), as a function of various parameters, including core-forming block length, charge density, and salt concentration.
Understanding these processes is pivotal for understanding the long-term stability of the PEC micelles in complex environments, and has important implications for the various intended applications of the PEC micelles, for example the payload release profile of the drugs being carried by the micelles.