Themed collection Polymer Self-Assembly

Guest editors Feihe Huang, Rachel O'Reilly and Steven C. Zimmerman introduce this web collection highlighting recent achievements in the field of polymer self-assembly.

This review covers recent research on design strategies for the cooperative self-assembly of porphyrins with polymers and its implementation as bioactive assembly.

Enzyme-responsive polymer assemblies have continually gained progress through the introduction of new enzymes and the development of new strategies for their preparation. In addition, kinetic studies will pave the way for tuning the response rate in a controlled manner.

A topical review on recent advances in the research and applications of antimicrobial polymeric nanostructures, such as silver-decorated polymeric nanostructures, and polymeric micelles and vesicles based on antimicrobial polymers and antimicrobial peptides.

In this feature article, the recent progress in biomaterial application of threaded macromolecules including polyrotaxanes such as drug delivery and gene delivery is described.

The versatility of random copolymer based self-assembly to provide diverse morphologies and their utility are discussed.

Poly(glycidyl methacrylate)s self-assembled to form micelles, capsules, hybrid materials and nanoparticles, showing applications in drug and gene vectors, solubilizing agents, etc.

In the field of electrochemical stimuli, ferrocene and its derivatives were widely studied with different host molecules, mainly including cyclodextrin, cucurbituril, pillararene and calixarene. This article generally summarizes the recent work regarding the host–guest interactions between ferrocene derivatives and their host molecules, as well as various supramolecular systems based on these interactions.

This Feature Article covers recent research endeavors of the marriage between pillararene-based host–guest pairs and supramolecular polymeric assemblies.

Supramolecular polymers from dendritic motifs combine the dynamic nature of supramolecular construction and inherent features from covalent dendronized polymers.

Self-assembly behavior of supramolecularly engineered polymers and their biomedical applications have been summarized.

CO₂ can act as a “green” stimulus to precisely tune the self-assembly of block copolymers.

Various individual or synergistic noncovalent interactions were employed to mediate polymeric micelles for controlled drug delivery.

Nanoassemblies driven by cyclodextrin-based inclusion complexation as functional nanomaterials.

This feature article highlights recent advances and future trends in protein-based supramolecular polymers that are formed by various non-covalent interactions.

Progress in the breath figure method is reviewed by emphasizing the role of the multiple interfaces and the applications of honeycomb films in separation, biocatalysis, biosensing, templating, stimuli-responsive surfaces and adhesive surfaces.

Copolymers of methyl methacrylate and aryl-triazole based anion receptors were quantitatively analyzed.

Reaction with a thiol causes solution-state self-assembled block copolymer nanoparticles to undergo a simultaneous morphology transition from micelles to vesicles coupled to an ON-to-OFF switch in particle fluorescence.

ABA triblock copolymers with glassy PMMA middle blocks and dynamic hydrogen bonding terminal blocks self-assemble into nanocomposites having an excellent combination of mechanical strength and self-healing capability.

One- and two-dimensional structures formed by two Lander molecules on Au(111) via 3D-optimized or complementary triple H-bonding are studied by scanning tunneling microscopy and rationalized by numerical calculations.

Polyethylenimine, a liquid polymer, can be transformed into a dual pH-responsive hydrogel upon functionalization with a self-complementary zwitterion which introduces additional supramolecular crosslinks, but only around neutral pH.

A bis-alkynylplatinum(II) terpyridine tweezer–alkynylgold(III) diphenylpyridine guest is shown to maintain a specific complexation in the presence of a B21C7–secondary ammonium salt recognition motif, which facilitates the formation of supramolecular hyperbranched polymers via a “tweezering directed self-assembly” strategy.

A novel hybrid hydrogel, based on electrostatic co-assembly of polyoxometaltate and the ABA triblock copolymers shows both sol–gel transition and luminescence variation in response to pH change.

RAFT polymerization afforded acrylic ABC triblock copolymers with self-complementary nucleobase-functionalized external blocks and a low-T_g soft central block.

A novel TPE-functionalized pillar[5]arene (TPEP5) was successfully synthesized, and the motion of the TPE motif was restricted via pillararene-based host–guest recognition-mediated cross-linking, resulting in the efficient “turn-on” of fluorescence emission based on the AIE mechanism.

The block copolymers self-assemble in aqueous solution and the polymer assemblies undergo “schizophrenic” micelle to vesicle morphological transition under CO₂ and temperature as triggers.

Telechelic dipalmitoylglyceryl PNIPAM vesicles fuse at the CP and form hybrid vesicles with phospholipid liposomes.

A luminescent supramolecular polymer based on P4VP and a tolane based hemi-phasmid benzoic acid forms Sm and Col_h phases at different compositions and the luminescent properties depend on the phase structures.

GPU-accelerated dissipative particle dynamics has been explored to probe the self-assembly of amphiphilic molecules in a soft confined environment.

Collagen peptide, PEG-based hydrogels with tuneable thermosensitive properties are validated as stimuli-responsive materials.

A series of blue supramolecular polymers with different counterions based on host–guest interactions were developed for polymer light-emitting diodes.

Tetraphenylethene-functionalized pillarenes form stimuli-responsive blue fluorescent polymers and gels with neutral guest linkers, through the formation–deformation of A₄/B₂-type supramolecular polymers.

1D nanocaterpillar structures were spontaneously formed during the synthesis of fully conjugated poly(2,5-dihexyloxy-1,4-phenylene)-block-polythiophene due to the strong π–π interactions between the polythiophene blocks.

“Sergeant-and-Soldiers” experiments were performed on single-chain polymeric nanoparticles (SCPNs) with an ABA-type triblock architecture that gives information about the folding structure of the SCPNs.

Two types of stick-like supramolecular polymers possessing rigid backbones have been fabricated through the self-assembly of rod-like monomers and cucurbit[8]uril in water.

The multistage polymeric nanogel delivery systems were constructed via host–guest interactions, which showed tumor acidity-triggered disassembly into smaller nanoparticles for deep tissue penetration, high-efficiency cellular uptake, and intracellular endo-lysosomal pH-responsive drug release.

Formation of a “pseudosuitane”-type complex based on triptycene-derived bis(crown ether) provides a new method for the synthesis of linear polyrotaxanes.

Uniform PS colloidal particles with controllable size ranging from 60 to 150 nm were prepared on a mass scale by using the bilayers of hyperbranched polymer vesicles as templates.

A photochromic supramolecular polymer was fabricated via bis-p-sulfonatocalix[4]arene recognition, showing colour switching and morphology change under alternative UV/Vis light stimuli.

We reported a photoresponsive monofunctionalized pillar[5]arene based on stiff stilbene. Z-1 tends to form self-complexing [1]pseudorotaxanes and [c2] daisy chains, whereas E-1 forms supramolecular polymers.

The self-assembly of a synthetic triblock copolymer was used to mimic the β-hairpin formation.

Covalent organic frameworks were developed to hold predesignable and aligned binding sites on the channel walls for supramolecular architecture.

Large-scale and robust vesicle aggregates were obtained through three-component molecular recognition among cell-sized polymer vesicles, carbon nanotubes and Au nanoparticles driven by adhesion interactions between Au and polydopamine.

A macro-/mesoporous polymeric network was prepared via ionic complexation between a polymerized ionic liquid and carboxylated pillar[5]arene. It was successfully applied as a selective absorbent for n-alklyene diols.