title: pH-responsive aggregation of amphiphilic glyco-homopolymer.
abstract: The first example of amphiphilic glyco-homopolymers is reported and their aggregation properties as a function of solution pH are studied. Two structurally similar polymers with different hydrophobicity (C8 and C6 alkyl chains) are examined. Both polymers form micelle-type aggregates in aqueous solution. The size and micro-environment of the aggregates are found to be strongly dependent on solution pH because of the state of protonation of the tertiary amine group. At acidic pH, swollen multi-micellar aggregates are formed, presumably because of the electrostatic repulsion among the ammonium ions. At basic pH more compact particles are found, which further co-assemble to generate either garland type (C8) or fractal-aggregates (C6).
authors.affiliation: Polymer Science Unit, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, 2A & 2B Raja S. C. Mullick Road, Kolkata, 7000 32, India.
authors.forename: Krishna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dan
authors.affiliation: Polymer Science Unit, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, 2A & 2B Raja S. C. Mullick Road, Kolkata, 7000 32, India. psusg2@iacs.res.in.
authors.forename: Suhrit
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghosh
mesh_terms: D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D008823:Micelles; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D008823:Micelles; D011134:Polysaccharides