title: Optically triggered dissociation of kinetically stabilized block copolymer vesicles in aqueous solution.
abstract: We demonstrate a strategy for using an optical stimulus to trigger the dissociation of block copolymer (BCP) vesicles in aqueous solution. The BCP, comprising hydrophilic poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and a block of poly(methacrylic acid) bearing a number of spiropyran methacrylate comonomer units (P(MAA-co-SPMA)), was allowed to firstly self-assemble into large vesicles in aqueous solution at pH=3 with protonated carboxylic acid groups, and then become kinetically stable at pH=8 due to the glassy vesicle membrane of P(MAA-co-SPMA). Fast dissociation of the vesicles was achieved through a cascade of events triggered by UV-induced isomerization from neutral spiropyran to charged merocyanine in the membrane.
authors: Département de chimie, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada J1K 2R1.
authors: Bin
authors: B
authors: Yan
authors: Jie
authors: J
authors: He
authors: Patrick
authors: P
authors: Ayotte
authors: Yue
authors: Y
authors: Zhao