title: Self-assembly of an amphiphilic macromolecule under spherical confinement: an efficient route to generate hollow nanospheres.
abstract: In general, bio-macromolecules are composed of hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties and are confined within small cavities, such as cell membranes and intracellular organelles. Here, we studied the self-organization of macromolecules having groups with different affinities to solvents under spherical nano-scale confinement by means of computer modeling. It is shown that depending on the interaction parameters of monomer units composed of side- and main-chain monomer groups along a single linear macromolecule and on cavity size, such amphiphilic polymers undergo the conformational transitions between hollow nanospheres, rod-like and folded cylindrical structures, and a necklace conformation with and without a particular ordering of beads. The diagram of the conformations in the variables the incompatibility parameter of monomer units and the cavity radius is constructed.
authors.affiliation: A. N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds of Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilova St. 28, 119991 Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Glagoleva
authors.affiliation: A. N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds of Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilova St. 28, 119991 Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: V V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Vasilevskaya
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Life and Medical Sciences, Doshisha University, Kyotanabe 610-0394, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshikawa
authors.affiliation: A. N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds of Russian Academy of Sciences, Vavilova St. 28, 119991 Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Khokhlov
mesh_terms: D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D046911:Macromolecular Substances