Flower Necklaces of Controllable Length Formed From N-(2-Hydroxypropyl) Methacrylamide-Based Amphiphilic Statistical Copolymers.

ABSTRACT

N-(2-Hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA)-based statistical copolymers bearing anticancer drugs have attracted attention for their efficacy in cancer treatments. However, controlling the size and morphology of aggregates of this type of polymer has been challenging and is far from being understood. In this study, small-angle X-ray scattering and asymmetric-flow field-flow fractionation with multiangle light scattering were used to investigate the structure of aggregates formed in aqueous solutions of HPMA-based statistical copolymers of different molecular weights with the model drug pyrene borne in different amounts. The analysis revealed that spherical objects (flower micelles) were formed by the assembly of pyrene moieties in low-molecular-weight copolymers, and the flower micelles connected linearly to form string-of-pearls assemblies (flower necklaces) in high-molecular-weight copolymers. The number of pyrene moieties per polymer chain likely dominates the size and morphology of the copolymer micelles. This study shows how to alter the aggregate structure by changing the molecular weight and composition of copolymers.