Self-assembly behaviours of a lipid-mimic brush polymer in thin films and at air-water interface

Jonghyun Kim, Jungwoon Jung, Minh Dinh Phan, Brian J. Ree, Shin'Ichi Fujita, Heesoo Kim, Hideki Matsuoka, Kwanwoo Shin, Moonhor Ree

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Self-assembly characteristics of poly(oxy(11-phosphorylcholineundecylthiomethyl)ethylene) (PECH-C11-PC), a lipid-mimicking brush polymer, were investigated for the first time in nanoscale thin films as well as at the air-water interface using synchrotron grazing incidence X-ray scattering, X-ray reflectivity, and infrared spectroscopy. In thin films, the PECH-C11-PC molecules were found to form a well-ordered, in-plane-oriented molecular multibilayer structure in which the bristles made partial interdigitation in the neighbored layers via the favorable interactions of the PC end groups. The brush polymer molecules were further found to favorably form molecular assemblies at the water interface. They initially formed a monolayer assembly in which the hydrophilic backbones were in the extended conformation and the zwitterionic PC ends were anchored at the water interface and the hydrophobic alkylenyl linkers were present over the water surface. This phase underwent a surface pressure-driven structural transformation path way, ultimately forming a canonical bilayer structure similar to that commonly observed among natural lipids. These remarkable self-assembly behaviors were comprehended with consideration of the hydrophilic backbone, zwitterionic PC end, hydrophobic alkylenyl linker, and their selective interactions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)161-172
Number of pages12
JournalPolymer
Volume78
DOIs
StatePublished - 5 Nov 2015

Keywords

  • Lipid-mimic brush polymer
  • Self-assemblies

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Self-assembly behaviours of a lipid-mimic brush polymer in thin films and at air-water interface'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this