文献类型：期刊文献

英文题名：Dynamics of amphiphilic block copolymers in an aqueous solution: direct imaging of micelle formation and nanoparticle encapsulation

作者：Li, Chang[1,2,3,4];Tho, Che Chen[1,2,3,5,6];Galaktionova, Daria[7];Chen, Xin[4];Kral, Petr[7,8,9];Mirsaidov, Utkur[1,2,3,5,6,10,11]

机构：[1]Natl Univ Singapore, Dept Phys, Singapore 117551, Singapore;[2]Natl Univ Singapore, Ctr BioImaging Sci, Singapore 117557, Singapore;[3]Natl Univ Singapore, Dept Biol Sci, Singapore 117557, Singapore;[4]East China Univ Sci & Technol, Sch Mat Sci & Engn, Shanghai 200237, Peoples R China;[5]Natl Univ Singapore, Ctr Adv 2D Mat, Singapore 117546, Singapore;[6]Natl Univ Singapore, Graphene Res Ctr, Singapore 117546, Singapore;[7]Univ Illinois, Dept Chem, Chicago, IL 60607 USA;[8]Univ Illinois, Dept Phys, Chicago, IL 60607 USA;[9]Univ Illinois, Dept Biopharmaceut Sci, Chicago, IL 60607 USA;[10]Natl Univ Singapore, NUSNNI NanoCore, Singapore 117411, Singapore;[11]Natl Univ Singapore, Dept Mat Sci & Engn, Singapore 117575, Singapore

年份：2019

卷号：11

期号：5

起止页码：2299

外文期刊名：NANOSCALE

收录：;EI(收录号：20190606474427);WOS:【SCI-EXPANDED(收录号:WOS:000459578800020)】；

基金：This work was supported by the Academic Research Fund Tier 2 from Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE2016-T2-2-009) and the Singapore National Research Foundation's Competitive Research Program funding (NRF-CRP16-2015-05). P.K. acknowledges the support of the NSF-DMR grant 1506886, and C.L. acknowledges the support of the China Scholarship Council (CSC No. 201706740010) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21875066).

语种：英文

外文关键词：Biocompatibility - Gold nanoparticles - Drug delivery - Hydrophobicity - Medical nanotechnology - Block copolymers - High resolution transmission electron microscopy

摘要：Micelles formed through the aggregation of amphiphilic block copolymers are ideal drug nanocarriers. Despite their importance in nanomedicine, the detailed mechanisms through which micelles form and copolymers encapsulate the target nanomaterials are unclear. Here, using in situ liquid cell transmission electron microscopy imaging, we capture both the dynamics of micelle formation and their encapsulation of gold nanoparticles (NPs) in an aqueous solution. Our observations reveal that the amphiphilic block copolymers aggregate and rearrange to form a micelle with a hydrophobic and rigid core, surrounded by a corona of hydrophilic blocks that extend into the solution. These micelles are stable against coalescence, and once mature, they do not merge. We also show that the encapsulation of hydrophobic NPs is a self-limiting process, which occurs through gradual adsorption of block copolymers; the growth of a polymeric shell around the NPs, shielding them from water, ceases when the NPs are fully covered by the adsorbed copolymers. The insights from these observations are of fundamental importance for the design of biocompatible soft materials.