mz5b00876_si_001.pdf (242 kB)
Influence of Dipole Orientation on Solution Properties of Polyzwitterions
journal contribution
posted on 2016-01-19, 00:00 authored by S. Morozova, G. Hu, T. Emrick, M. MuthukumarWe
have studied the influence of segmental dipole orientation on
the solution properties of polyzwitterions using dynamic and static
light scattering of poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine)
(PMPC), n-butyl-substituted choline phosphate polymers
(PMBP), and their diblock (PMPC-b-PMBP) copolymers
in solutions of different salt concentration. We find that these three
structures exhibit dramatically different aggregation behaviors. For
the conditions in our study, PMPC is a swollen excluded-volume chain
without significant presence of dipolar correlations as evident from
the lack of sensitivity to the ionic strength of the solution. In
contrast, PMBP self-assembles into finite-sized structures in solution,
which are stabilized by electrostatic dipole–dipole interactions.
Evidence of these interactions is also present in
the diblock polymer, PMPB-b-PMPC, which self-assembles
into two distinct, stable aggregates in addition to unaggregated chains.
These results contribute to the breadth of understanding
of polyzwitterions in solution and provide a platform for future simulation
and experimental explorations.