Polymersomes and Wormlike Micelles Made Fluorescent by Direct Modifications of Block Copolymer Amphiphiles

Wormlike micelles and vesicles prepared from diblock copolymers are attracting great interest for a number of technological applications. Although transmission electron microscopy has remained as the method of choice for assessing the morphologies, fluorescence microscopy has a number of advantages...

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Main Authors: Karthikan Rajagopal, David A. Christian, Takamasa Harada, Aiwei Tian, Dennis E. Discher
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2010-01-01
Series:International Journal of Polymer Science
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2010/379286
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author Karthikan Rajagopal
David A. Christian
Takamasa Harada
Aiwei Tian
Dennis E. Discher
author_facet Karthikan Rajagopal
David A. Christian
Takamasa Harada
Aiwei Tian
Dennis E. Discher
author_sort Karthikan Rajagopal
collection DOAJ
description Wormlike micelles and vesicles prepared from diblock copolymers are attracting great interest for a number of technological applications. Although transmission electron microscopy has remained as the method of choice for assessing the morphologies, fluorescence microscopy has a number of advantages. We show here that when commercially available fluorophores are covalently attached to diblock copolymers, a number of their physicochemical characteristics can be investigated. This method becomes particularly useful for visualizing phase separation within polymer assemblies and assessing the dynamics of wormlike micelles in real time. Near-IR fluorophores can be covalently conjugated to polymers and this opens the possibility for deep-tissue fluorescence imaging of polymer assemblies in drug delivery applications.
format Article
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issn 1687-9422
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publishDate 2010-01-01
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series International Journal of Polymer Science
spelling doaj-art-a4d00447fbb84ddf88dcd24a661cc9de2025-08-20T02:23:05ZengWileyInternational Journal of Polymer Science1687-94221687-94302010-01-01201010.1155/2010/379286379286Polymersomes and Wormlike Micelles Made Fluorescent by Direct Modifications of Block Copolymer AmphiphilesKarthikan Rajagopal0David A. Christian1Takamasa Harada2Aiwei Tian3Dennis E. Discher4Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USADepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USADepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USADepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USADepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USAWormlike micelles and vesicles prepared from diblock copolymers are attracting great interest for a number of technological applications. Although transmission electron microscopy has remained as the method of choice for assessing the morphologies, fluorescence microscopy has a number of advantages. We show here that when commercially available fluorophores are covalently attached to diblock copolymers, a number of their physicochemical characteristics can be investigated. This method becomes particularly useful for visualizing phase separation within polymer assemblies and assessing the dynamics of wormlike micelles in real time. Near-IR fluorophores can be covalently conjugated to polymers and this opens the possibility for deep-tissue fluorescence imaging of polymer assemblies in drug delivery applications.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2010/379286
spellingShingle Karthikan Rajagopal
David A. Christian
Takamasa Harada
Aiwei Tian
Dennis E. Discher
Polymersomes and Wormlike Micelles Made Fluorescent by Direct Modifications of Block Copolymer Amphiphiles
International Journal of Polymer Science
title Polymersomes and Wormlike Micelles Made Fluorescent by Direct Modifications of Block Copolymer Amphiphiles
title_full Polymersomes and Wormlike Micelles Made Fluorescent by Direct Modifications of Block Copolymer Amphiphiles
title_fullStr Polymersomes and Wormlike Micelles Made Fluorescent by Direct Modifications of Block Copolymer Amphiphiles
title_full_unstemmed Polymersomes and Wormlike Micelles Made Fluorescent by Direct Modifications of Block Copolymer Amphiphiles
title_short Polymersomes and Wormlike Micelles Made Fluorescent by Direct Modifications of Block Copolymer Amphiphiles
title_sort polymersomes and wormlike micelles made fluorescent by direct modifications of block copolymer amphiphiles
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2010/379286
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