Small-angle X-ray scattering insights into the architecture-dependent emulsifying properties of amphiphilic copolymers in supercritical carbon dioxide.

The supramolecular assembly of a series of copolymers combining poly(ethylene oxide)-rich hydrophilic and fluorinated CO2-philic sequences is analyzed by synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) in supercritical CO2, as well as in water/CO2 emulsions. These copolymers were designed to have the same molecular weight and composition and to differ only by their macromolecular architecture. The investigated copolymers have random, block, and palm-tree architectures. Besides, thermoresponsive copolymer is also analyzed, having a hydrophilic sequence becoming water-insoluble around 41 °C, i.e., just above the critical point of CO2. At the length scale investigated by SAXS, only the random copolymer appears to self-assemble in pure CO2, in the form of a disordered microgel-like network. The random, block, and thermoresponsive copolymers are all able to stabilize water/CO2 emulsions but not the copolymer with the palm-tree architecture, pointing at the importance of macromolecular architecture for the emulsifying properties. A modeling of the SAXS data shows that the block and the thermoresponsive copolymers form spherical micelle-like structures containing about 70% water and 30% polymer.

Surface activity of a fluorinated carbohydrate ester in water/carbon dioxide emulsions.

The water/carbon dioxide (W/CO2) interfacial activity and emulsifying capacity of hydrocarbon and fluorinated carbohydrate esters are investigated of the first time and compared to the performance of sodium-bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT). The reduction of the W/CO2 interfacial tension was measured using a pendant drop tensiometer equipped with a cell view pressurized with CO2 at 80 bar and 45°C. It was found that the interface stabilization improved in the order AOT<6-O-myristoyl mannose<6-O-(2H,2H,3H,3H-perfluoroundecanoyl)-D-mannose. In the latter case, a drastic reduction of the W/CO2 interfacial tension was observed (85% reduction, interfacial tension at the equilibrium=3.6 mN/m), which emphasizes the advantage of using a fluorinated CO2-philic tail and the potential of sugars as hydrophilic head. The formulation of stable W/CO2 emulsions was also achieved using the fluorinated mannose derivative. This study paves the way to the design of a novel class of competitive surface active agents for W/CO2 emulsions.

Tunable self-assembled nanogels composed of well-defined thermoresponsive hyaluronic acid-polymer conjugates.

Here we report that grafting temperature-responsive polymers onto hyaluronic acid allows temperature-induced self-assembly into nanogels with tunable size. These nanogels can be easily loaded with hydrophobic molecules and hold potential for anti-cancer drug delivery towards human ovarian cancer cells.

α-Acetal, ω-alkyne poly(ethylene oxide) as a versatile building block for the synthesis of glycoconjugated graft-copolymers suited for targeted drug delivery.

α-Acetal, ω-alkyne poly(ethylene oxide) was synthesized as building block of glycoconjugated poly(ε-caprolactone)-graft-poly(ethylene oxide) (PCL-g-PEO) copolymers. The alkyne group is indeed instrumental for the PEGylation of a poly(α-azido-ε-caprolactone-co-ε-caprolactone) copolymer by the Huisgen's 1,3 dipolar cycloaddition, i.e., a click reaction. Moreover, deprotection of the acetal end-group of the hydrophilic PEO grafts followed by reductive amination of the accordingly formed aldehyde with an aminated sugar is a valuable strategy of glycoconjugation of the graft copolymer, whose micelles are then potential. A model molecule (fluoresceinamine) was first considered in order to optimize the experimental conditions for the reductive amination. These conditions were then extended to the decoration of the graft copolymer micelles with mannose, which is a targeting agent of dendritic cells and macrophages. The bioavailability of the sugar units at the surface of micelles was investigated by surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The same question was addressed to nanoparticles stabilized by the graft copolymer. Enzyme linked lectin assay (ELLA) confirmed the availability of mannose at the nanoparticle surface.