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).