title: Formation of tethered polyacrylic acid loops in core-shell micelles.
abstract: Well-defined amphiphilic four-arm star P(AA-b-STY) block copolymers have been dispersed in water to form core-shell micelles in which the shell consists of tethered PAA loops. The entropic penalty for having such loops resulted in a less densely packed PSTY core when compared to linear diblock copolymers of the same arm length. The surface of the shell is irregular because of the tethering points, but when cleaved the PAA chains extend to form a regular and relatively uniform corona.
authors.affiliation: Australian Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, School of Molecular and Microbial Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Whittaker
authors.forename: Carl N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Urbani
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Monteiro
mesh_terms: D000180:Acrylic Resins; D019277:Entropy; D008823:Micelles
chemical_list: D000180:Acrylic Resins; D008823:Micelles; C006903:carbopol 940