Abstract
The development of stimuli responsive polymers has progressed significantly with novel preparation techniques, which has allowed access to new materials with unique properties. Dual thermoresponsive (double temperature responsive) block copolymers are particularly of interest as their properties can change depending on the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) or upper critical solution temperature (UCST) of each segment. For instance, these block copolymers can change from being hydrophilic, to amphiphilic or to hydrophobic simply by changing the solution temperature without any additional chemicals and the block copolymers can change from being fully solubilized to self-assembled structures to macroscopic aggregation/precipitation. Based on the unique solution properties, these dual thermo-responsive block copolymers are expected to be suitable for biomedical applications. This review is divided into three parts; LCST-LCST types of block copolymers, UCST-LCST types of block copolymers, and their potential as biomedical applications.
Highlights
Various types of synthetic polymers have been developed with unique physical, chemical, and biological properties for a range of applications
Dual thermo-responsive block copolymers can change the properties of each segment resulting in hydrophilic-hydrophilic, amphiphilic, and hydrophobic-hydrophobic structures depending on the solution temperature below the critical micelle concentration (CMC)
Dual temperature responsive block copolymers were prepared, and the complex structures/functionalities were designed after the development of living radical polymerization, click chemistry, and their combinations block copolymers structures/functionalities were designed after the development of living radical polymerization, chemistry, and their combinations block copolymers consisting of poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAAm) andcombinations poly(NIPAAm-co-N-hydroxymethyl (HMAAm))
Summary
Various types of synthetic polymers have been developed with unique physical, chemical, and biological properties for a range of applications. Polymers 2016, 8, 380 bonding interactions with surrounding water molecules This reversible solubility change has been applied for a wide range of applications such as in the development of model proteins, triggers for self-assemblies, “on-off” switch of protein activities, cell sheet technologies, drug carriers, column chromatography, and sensors [5,6,7,8,9,10]. Under the polymeric design, when two thermo-responsive segments are connected by a covalent bond at each end chain, the block copolymers are expected to possess a dual thermo-responsive property in the conformation changes. Dual thermo-responsive block copolymers can change the properties of each segment resulting in hydrophilic-hydrophilic, amphiphilic, and hydrophobic-hydrophobic structures depending on the solution temperature below the critical micelle concentration (CMC). At concentrations above the CMC, depending on the temperature, the dual thermo-responsive block copolymers can show assembled structural changes, which are dissolution, assembly, and aggregation/precipitation.
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