title: Compartmentalization and delivery via asymmetric copolymer monolayers with swollen or inverse swollen micelles.
abstract: We investigate the equilibrium properties and the underlying dynamics of emulsions formed in asymmetric A-B copolymers in matrices of immiscible B and C molecular fluids using coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations. The emulsions are generated by introducing net attractions among the A units of the copolymers and the C molecules. They coexist with an absorbed copolymer monolayer. We determine the interfacial properties as the emulsions are forming. In general, highly asymmetric copolymers self-assemble within the B-matrix phase into swollen micelles; the cores of which are composed of C-component material. Less asymmetric copolymers, however, after initially budding and eventually fissioning from the interfacial copolymer monolayer, generate emulsified "inverse swollen micelles" within the C-matrix phase. These stable inverse (crew-cut) swollen micelles, which form under the inward bending of the saturated or oversaturated interfaces toward the longer B-block due to the attraction between the A and C units, can encapsulate large amounts of B-matrix component in their cores. This monolayer collapse mechanism can be exploited to generate nanoreactors or containers that enhance the delivery of molecular components into immiscible molecular fluid environments.
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Hong Xia
authors.initials: HX
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Olvera de la Cruz