Aqueous Self-Assembly of Purely Hydrophilic Block Copolymers into Giant Vesicles.

Self-assembly of macromolecules is fundamental to life itself, and historically, these systems have been primitively mimicked by the development of amphiphilic systems, driven by the hydrophobic effect. Herein, we demonstrate that self-assembly of purely hydrophilic systems can be readily achieved with similar ease and success. We have synthesized double hydrophilic block copolymers from polysaccharides and poly(ethylene oxide) or poly(sarcosine) to yield high molar mass diblock copolymers through oxime chemistry.

Poly(α-Peptoid)s Revisited: Synthesis, Properties, and Use as Biomaterial.

Polypeptoids have been of great interest in the polymer science community since the early half of the last century; however, they had been basically forgotten materials until the last decades in which they have enjoyed an exciting revival. In this mini-review, we focus on the recent developments in polypeptoid chemistry, with particular focus on polymers synthesized by the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of amino acid N-carboxyanhydrides (NCAs). Specifically, we will review traditional monomer synthesis (such as Leuchs, Katchalski, and Kricheldorf) and recent advances in polymerization methods to yield both linear, cyclic, and functional polymers, solution and bulk thermal properties, and preliminary results on the use of polypeptoids as biomaterials (i.

Shape memory particles capable of controlled geometric and chemical asymmetry made from aliphatic polyesters.

A novel method for producing monodisperse micro- and nanosized shape memory particles from various shape memory polymers (SMPs) is reported. This method uses a polydimethylsiloxane mold to uniformly deform particles from complex shapes to other well-defined shapes, harvest them without aggressive solvents or heat, and then return them to their original shapes upon heating above a preselected trigger temperature. By manipulating the material properties of both the mold and SMP, monodisperse asymmetric particles are easily achieved.

It is the outside that counts: chemical and physical control of dynamic surfaces.

Materials capable of dynamically controlling surface chemistry and topography are highly desirable. We have designed a system that is uniquely able to remotely control the presented functionality and geometry at a given time by using a functionalizable shape memory material. This was accomplished by incorporating controlled amounts of an azide-containing monomer into a shape memory polymeric material.