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Polymers
Special Issues
Synthesis, Properties and Applications of Amphiphilic Polymers
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Synthesis, Properties and Applications of Amphiphilic Polymers

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Physics and Theory".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2021) | Viewed by 12065

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Patrizio Raffa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Product Engineering, ENTEG, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747AG Groningen, The Netherlands
Interests: amphiphilic polymers; polymeric surfactants; polymer synthesis; controlled radical polymerization; chemically enhanced oil recovery

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Amphiphilic polymers are ubiquitous in natural systems and synthetic products and materials. Due to their ability to adsorb at interfaces and to self-assemble into aggregates of various shapes and sizes, they can act as emulsion/colloids stabilizers, polymeric surfactants, hydrogels, and encapsulating agents. For these reasons, they find their application in many diverse areas, such as coatings, biotechnology, nanotechnology, medicine, pharmacology, cosmetics, agriculture, water purification, food, electronics, and enhanced oil recovery. Of great interest is the possibility to introduce stimuli-responsive behaviour (to pH, temperature, electrolytes concentration, UV irradiation, etc.), which is at the basis of the design of smart materials and medical devices for drug/gene delivery and tissue engineering. This Special Issue intends to collect recent advances in the synthesis, characterization, study of properties, and applications of amphiphilic polymers, including amphiphilic block copolymers, polysoaps, hydrophobic polyelectrolytes, and biopolymeric surfactants.

Dr. Patrizio Raffa
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Amphiphilic polymers;
  • Polymeric surfactants;
  • Polymeric emulsifiers;
  • Polymer colloids;
  • Stimuli-responsive polymers;
  • Hydrogels;
  • Drug delivery.

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

7 pages, 1249 KiB  
Communication
A Dramatic Change in Rheological Behavior of a Clay Material Caused by a Minor Addition of Hydrophilic and Amphiphilic Polyelectrolytes
by Irina G. Panova, Alexander A. Kiushov, Dolgor D. Khaydapova, Sergey B. Zezin, Maxim S. Arzhakov and Alexander A. Yaroslavov
Polymers 2021, 13(21), 3662; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym13213662 - 24 Oct 2021
Viewed by 1264
Abstract
Wide usage of clay-based materials in industry requires investigations concerning efficient modification techniques to control their mechanical behavior in aqueous media. The challenging problem in this field involves minimization of the modifying agent content to provide marked changes in the operating characteristics of [...] Read more.
Wide usage of clay-based materials in industry requires investigations concerning efficient modification techniques to control their mechanical behavior in aqueous media. The challenging problem in this field involves minimization of the modifying agent content to provide marked changes in the operating characteristics of the material. In this work, the physicochemical, mechanical and structural aspects of the interaction of capillary water-saturated kaolinite with polyelectrolytes were studied. Modification of kaolinite with a negligible amount (0.1 wt.%) of hydrophilic and amphiphilic polyelectrolytes provides the control for rheological parameters of kaolinite suspensions such as storage and loss modulus in the range of three orders of magnitude. The results obtained reveal the wide possibilities for the production of a spectrum of clay materials using minor amounts of polymer modifying agents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthesis, Properties and Applications of Amphiphilic Polymers)
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13 pages, 2166 KiB  
Article
Interactions between an Associative Amphiphilic Block Polyelectrolyte and Surfactants in Water: Effect of Charge Type on Solution Properties and Aggregation
by Patrizio Raffa
Polymers 2021, 13(11), 1729; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym13111729 - 25 May 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2662
Abstract
The study of interactions between polyelectrolytes (PE) and surfactants is of great interest for both fundamental and applied research. These mixtures can represent, for example, models of self-assembly and molecular organization in biological systems, but they are also relevant in industrial applications. Amphiphilic [...] Read more.
The study of interactions between polyelectrolytes (PE) and surfactants is of great interest for both fundamental and applied research. These mixtures can represent, for example, models of self-assembly and molecular organization in biological systems, but they are also relevant in industrial applications. Amphiphilic block polyelectrolytes represent an interesting class of PE, but their interactions with surfactants have not been extensively explored so far, most studies being restricted to non-associating PE. In this work, interactions between an anionic amphiphilic triblock polyelectrolyte and different types of surfactants bearing respectively negative, positive and no charge, are investigated via surface tension and solution rheology measurements for the first time. It is evidenced that the surfactants have different effects on viscosity and surface tension, depending on their charge type. Micellization of the surfactant is affected by the presence of the polymer in all cases; shear viscosity of polymer solutions decreases in presence of the same charge or nonionic surfactants, while the opposite charge surfactant causes precipitation. This study highlights the importance of the charge type, and the role of the associating hydrophobic block in the PE structure, on the solution behavior of the mixtures. Moreover, a possible interaction model is proposed, based on the obtained data. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthesis, Properties and Applications of Amphiphilic Polymers)
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15 pages, 4414 KiB  
Article
Hydrophobically-Modified PEG Hydrogels with Controllable Hydrophilic/Hydrophobic Balance
by Fabio Bignotti, Francesco Baldi, Mario Grassi, Michela Abrami and Gloria Spagnoli
Polymers 2021, 13(9), 1489; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym13091489 - 06 May 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3043
Abstract
This work reports on a novel method to synthesize hydrophobically-modified hydrogels by curing epoxy monomers with amines. The resulting networks contain hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) segments, poly(propylene glycol) (PPG) segments, and C18 alkyl segments. By varying the content of C18 segments, [...] Read more.
This work reports on a novel method to synthesize hydrophobically-modified hydrogels by curing epoxy monomers with amines. The resulting networks contain hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) segments, poly(propylene glycol) (PPG) segments, and C18 alkyl segments. By varying the content of C18 segments, networks with different hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) are obtained. All networks show an amphiphilic behavior, swelling considerably both in organic solvents and in aqueous media. In the latter they display a thermosensitive behavior, which is highly affected by the network HLB and the pH of the solution. A decrease in HLB results in an increment of the polymer weight content (wp) due to hydrophobic association. Furthermore, a reduction in HLB induces a remarkable increase in initial modulus, elongation at break and tensile strength, especially when wp becomes greater than about 10%. Low field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) experiments evidence that, when HLB decreases, a sudden and considerable increase in hydrogel heterogeneity takes place due to occurrence of extensive physical crosslinking. Available data suggest that in systems with wp ≳ 10% a continuous physical network superimposes to the pre-existing chemical network and leads to a sort of double network capable of considerably improving hydrogel toughness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthesis, Properties and Applications of Amphiphilic Polymers)
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14 pages, 2086 KiB  
Communication
Synthesis and Characterization of Macroinitiators Based on Polyorganophosphazenes for the Ring Opening Polymerization of N-Carboxyanhydrides
by Natalia Zashikhina, Marina Vasileva, Olga Perevedentseva, Irina Tarasenko, Tatiana Tennikova and Evgenia Korzhikova-Vlakh
Polymers 2021, 13(9), 1446; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym13091446 - 29 Apr 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1810
Abstract
Among the various biocompatible amphiphilic copolymers, biodegradable ones are the most promising for the preparation of drug delivery systems since they are destroyed under physiological conditions, that, as a rule, reduce toxicity and provide controlled release of the drug. Hybrid graft-copolymers consisting of [...] Read more.
Among the various biocompatible amphiphilic copolymers, biodegradable ones are the most promising for the preparation of drug delivery systems since they are destroyed under physiological conditions, that, as a rule, reduce toxicity and provide controlled release of the drug. Hybrid graft-copolymers consisting of the main inorganic polyphosphazene chain and polypeptide side chains are of considerable interest for the development of delivery systems with a controlled degradation rate, since the main and side chains will have different degradation mechanisms (chemical and enzymatic hydrolysis, respectively). Variable particle degradation rate, controlled by the adjusting the composition of substituents, will allow selective delivery in vivo and controlled drug release. The present work proposes the preparation of biodegradable macroinitiators based on polyorganophosphazenes for the synthesis of hybrid copolymers. Synthesis of novel biodegradable macroinitiators based on polyorganophosphazenes was performed via macromolecular substitution of a polydichlorophosphazene chain with the sodium alcoholates, amines and amino acids. The composition of copolymers obtained was calculated using NMR. These polyorganophosphazenes bearing primary amino groups can be considered as convenient macroinitiators for the polymerization of NCA of α-amino acids in order to prepare hybrid copolymers polyphosphazene-graft-polypeptide. The developed macroinitiators were amphiphilic and self-assembled in the aqueous media into nanoparticles. Furthermore, the ability to encapsulate and release a model substance was demonstrated. In addition, the in vitro cytotoxicity of synthesized polymers was evaluated using two cell lines. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthesis, Properties and Applications of Amphiphilic Polymers)
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13 pages, 3756 KiB  
Article
Synthesis, Characterization, and Antimicrobial Evaluation of Random Poly(ester-Carbonate)s Bearing Pendant Primary Amine in the Main Chain
by Peng Dong, Jing Feng, Sujuan Li, Tingli Sun, Qingshan Shi and Xiaobao Xie
Polymers 2020, 12(11), 2640; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym12112640 - 10 Nov 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2029
Abstract
Starting from primary amine bearing cyclic carbonate tert-butyl-(2-oxo-1,3-dioxan-5-yl) carbamate (TBODC) and caprolactone (CL), amphiphilic poly(caprolactone-ran-amino trimethyl carbonate)s (P(CL-ran-ATC)s) random copolymers with controlled molecular weight and composition were synthesized via ring opening polymerization (ROP) and deprotection, using stannous octoate [...] Read more.
Starting from primary amine bearing cyclic carbonate tert-butyl-(2-oxo-1,3-dioxan-5-yl) carbamate (TBODC) and caprolactone (CL), amphiphilic poly(caprolactone-ran-amino trimethyl carbonate)s (P(CL-ran-ATC)s) random copolymers with controlled molecular weight and composition were synthesized via ring opening polymerization (ROP) and deprotection, using stannous octoate (Sn(Oct)2) as catalyst and benzyl alcohol (BnOH) as initiator. Therefore, hydrophilic/lipophilic ratio (HLR) of the P(CL-ran-ATC)s copolymers can be finely adjusted by the feed ratio of TBODC and CL. The antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) of P(CL-ran-ATC)s were proportional to HLR, and P(CL-ran-ATC)s presented more vigorous bactericidal activity towards S. aureus. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of P(CL-ran-ATC 50.9%) are 2000 μg mL−1 and 3000 μg mL−1 for S. aureus and E. coli. While P(CL-ran-ATC 50.9%) exhibited deficient hemolytic activity as 1.41%. In addition, the P(CL-ran-ATC)s showed extremely low cytotoxicity towards fibroblast L929 cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Synthesis, Properties and Applications of Amphiphilic Polymers)
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