Precise Control of Two-Dimensional Platelet Micelles from Biodegradable Poly(p-dioxanone) Block Copolymers by Crystallization-Driven Self-Assembly

Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) core–shell nanoparticles have been attracting increasing interest due to their wide applications in materials science. Living crystallization-driven self-assembly (CDSA) is an ambient temperature, seeded growth method of crystallizable block copolymers (BCPs) in selective solvents, which has been demonstrated to be a powerful tool for the creation of one-dimensional (1D)/2D nanomaterials with precise control over size and compositions. Nevertheless, the development of an efficient living CDSA approach is a challenge for the case of semicrystalline poly(p-dioxanone) (PPDO) as a core-forming block, where the dimensional control is poor. Herein, we demonstrate that the insufficient size control of 2D PPDO platelets could be overcome through modulation of solvent compositions or elevating the crystallization temperatures for PPDO. The possible mechanism involves an improved unimer solubility that avoids fast unimer aggregation. As a result, uniform 2D platelet micelles with a controlled area over a substantial size range are created via epitaxial growth of the unimer. It is noteworthy that the shape control of 2D platelet micelles from quasi-square to elongated hexagon to lozenge shapes can be accessible by regulating the crystallization conditions such as adding different amounts of cosolvents or crystallization at an elevated temperature. Meanwhile, spatially defined block comicelles can be achieved via the seeded growth approach from PPDO core-forming BCPs with different corona functionalities at elevated temperatures. The excellent water stability and biocompatibility properties of 2D PPDO platelet micelles further enable them to have a potential application as cargo vehicles in the drug delivery field.