Effect of Hydrophobic Hydration on the Self-Assembling Behavior of Poly (L-Lactide) Homopolymers with an Ionic End Group

作者：Liu, Zhen; Shi, Xinjie; Shu, Wenchao; Qi, Shuo; He, Xiaoming^*; Wang, Xiaosong^*; He, Xiaohua

来源：Macromolecules, 2022, 55(19): 8892-8898.

DOI：10.1021/acs.macromol.2c01304

• POLY(ETHYLENE GLYCOL)
• HOFMEISTER SERIES
• POLY(LACTIC ACID)
• WATER
• POLY(L-LACTIDE)
• DYNAMICS
• SURFACES
• FORCE
• FIELD
• PLLA

The investigation of hydrophobic hydration as a hydrophobic effect (HE) on the conformations and self-assembling behaviors of terminally charged poly (L-lactide) (PLLA[PPh2Me]I) in tetrahydrofuran (THF)/water with various water contents is reported. The backbone was hydrated while the ionic end group was not hydrated at a lower water content (33.3%), and consequentially PLLA[PPh2Me]I self-assembled into fibers. As the water content increased to 50.0%, ion pair end groups were hydrated and exerted a long-range dehydrating effect on the backbone, endowing chain spiralization via intramolecular C-H center dot center dot center dot O hydrogen bonds and leading to the formation of spheres. At 60.0% water content, the long-range effect of hydrated water on the ion pair end groups completely removed the hydration water from the backbone, and so the macromolecules possessed a certain degree of amphiphilicity and self-assembled into vesicles. The elucidation of hydrophobic hydration is desirable for improving HE-caused self-assembly and understanding biological systems.

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