Beyond classical hydrophilic-hydrophobic amphiphiles: triblock poly(2-oxazoline)s with a fluorinated block as a new platform for advanced self-assembly and 19F MRI imaging

  I want to make an overview of recent achievements in the field of the synthesis and self-assembly of triphilic poly(2-oxazoline) triblock copolymers. A variety of novel fluorine-containing copolymers was synthesized combining hydrophilic, hydrophobic and fluorophilic moieties into one segmented polymer [1-4]. The presence of the blocks with the different nature in one copolymer structure facilitated self-assembly of the copolymers in water and some organic solvents as observed by dynamic light scattering, cryo-TEM, and small-angle neutron scattering. The nanoparticle morphology is strongly influenced by the order and length of each block and the nature of solvent, leading to nanoparticles with core-shell structure as confirmed by small angle neutron scattering. The supramolecular structures described represent a potential platform for 19F magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents

References:

[1] Leonid I. Kaberov, Bart Verbraeken, Anna Riabtseva, Jiri Brus, Aurel Radulescu, Yeshayahu Talmon, Petr Stepanek, Richard Hoogenboom, Sergey K. Filippov, Macromolecules, 2018, 51 (15), 6047-6056.

[2] Anna Riabtseva, Leonid I. Kaberov, Laurence Noirez, Vasyl Ryukhtin, Corinne Nardin, Bart Verbraeken, Richard Hoogenboom, Petr Stepanek, Sergey K. Filippov,  European Polymer Journal, 2018, 99, 518-527.

[3] L.I. Kaberov, B. Verbraeken, A. Riabtseva, J. Brus, Y. Talmon, P. Stepanek, R. Hoogenboom, S. K. Filippov, ACS Macro Lett. 2018, 7, 7−10.

[4] Leonid I. Kaberov, Bart Verbraeken, Martin Hruby,Anna Riabtseva, Lubomir Kovacik,Sami Kereïche, Petr Stepanek, Richard Hoogenboom, Sergey K. Filippov, European Polymer Journal, 2017,  88, 645-655.