Synthesis of Polymeric Ferrocenyl Amphiphiles with smart hydrophobic block and long hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) block and their application in self-assembly micelles with electrochemical response

Abstract

• Two novel polymeric ferrocenyl amphiphiles, PEG-pH-Fc and PEG-Fc were synthesized;. • PEG-Fc and PEG-pH-Fc could reversibly aggregate to form spherical micelles and disassemble into irregular fragments by electrochemical redox reaction;. • This work offers significant possibilities for the fundamental science of controlled self-assembly and drug release. In order to apply reversible self- and dis-assembly processes of polymers controlled by electrochemical redox to drug delivery systems, two novel polymeric ferrocenyl amphiphiles, 4-(11-Ferrocenylundecyloxy) benzoic acid methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) ester (denoted as PEG-Ph-Fc) and (11-ferroceny -lundecyloxy) poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether (denoted as PEG-Fc) were synthesized and their electrochemical redox-controlled self-assembly behaviors in aqueous solution were investigated by potentiostatic method and observed by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS). It is observed that polymeric amphiphile PEG-Fc and PEG-Ph-Fc could reversibly aggregate to form spherical micelles and also disassemble into irregular fragments by electrochemical redox reaction in aqueous solution without adding other chemical reagents. This work offers significant possibilities for the fundamental science of controlled self-assembly and drug release.