Elongation flow-triggered morphology transitions of dendritic polyethylene amphiphilic assemblies: host–guest implications

Abstract

The assemblies and transformations of dendritic polyethylene (DPE)–poly(oligo(ethyleneglycol) methacrylate) (POEGMA) amphiphilic micelles have been demonstrated by cryo-TEM and DLS techniques under elongation flow stimuli. The flow rate-dependence of the dissymmetry ratio suggests the possibility that a combination of shear and elongation could also be responsible for the transitions of DPE–POEGMAs, but it is obvious that the exposure of elongation flow is essential and plays a key role in the assembly and fusion of the DPE–POEGMA micelles. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) is used to provide insight into the assembly and fusion of DPE–POEGMA under elongation flow. The FRET results show that a shorter separation distance of DiO–DiI with higher elongation rate can result in higher FRET efficiency. Furthermore, DPE–POEGMAs can display the responsive switching ability of the elongation flow-triggered FRET.