Issue 2, 2011

pH Responsiveness of polyelectrolyte dendrimers: a dynamical perspective

Abstract

A combined quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS) and high-resolution solution NMR spectroscopy study was conducted to investigate the internal dynamics of aqueous (D2O) G5 PAMAM dendrimer solutions as a function of molecular protonation at room temperature. Localized motion of the dendrimer segments was clearly exhibited in the QENS data analysis while the global, center-of-mass translational diffusion was measured by NMR. Our results unambiguously demonstrate an increased rapidity in local scale (∼ 3 Å) motion upon increasing the molecular protonation. This is contrary to an intuitive picture that increased charge stiffens the dendrimer segments thereby inhibiting local motion. These charge-induced changes may be a result of interactions with the surrounding counterions and water molecules as the segments explore additional intra-dendrimer volume made available by slight electrostatic swelling and redistribution of mass in the dendrimer interior. This observation is relevant to development of a microscopic picture of dendrimer-based packages as guest-molecule delivery vehicles because reorganization of the confining dendrimer segments must be a precursor to guest-molecule release.

Graphical abstract: pH Responsiveness of polyelectrolyte dendrimers: a dynamical perspective

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
12 Jul 2010
Accepted
28 Oct 2010
First published
23 Nov 2010

Soft Matter, 2011,7, 618-622

pH Responsiveness of polyelectrolyte dendrimers: a dynamical perspective

X. Li, M. Zamponi, K. Hong, L. Porcar, C. Shew, T. Jenkins, E. Liu, G. S. Smith, K. W. Herwig, Y. Liu and W. Chen, Soft Matter, 2011, 7, 618 DOI: 10.1039/C0SM00671H

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements