Poly ethylene glycol brush b poly Nvinylpyrrolidone based double hydrophilic block copolymer particles crosslinked via crystalline acyclodextrin domains

Self assembly of block copolymers is a significant area of polymer science. The self assembly of completely water soluble block copolymers is of particular interest, albeit a challenging task. In the present work the self assembly of a linear brush architecture block copolymer, namely poly N vinylpyrrolidone b poly oligoethylene glycol methacrylate PVP b POEGMA , in water is studied. Moreover, the assembled structures are crosslinked via amp; 945; CD host guest complexation in a supramolecular way. The crosslinking shifts the equilibrium toward aggregate formation without switching off the dynamic equilibrium of double hydrophilic block copolymer DHBC . As a consequence, the self assembly efficiency is improved without extinguishing the unique DHBC self assembly behavior. In addition, decrosslinking could be induced without a change in concentration by adding a competing complexation agent for amp; 945; CD. The self assembly behavior was followed by DLS measurement, while the presence of the particles could be observed via cryo TEM before and after crosslinkin