Volume 44, Issue 23 2300192
Research Article

Self-Assembly and In Situ Quaternization of Triblock Bottlebrush Block Copolymers via Organized Spontaneous Emulsification for Effective Loading of DNA

Zhaoxu Wang

Zhaoxu Wang

Tianjin Key Laboratory of Composite and Functional Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300350 P. R. China

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Qiujun Liu

Qiujun Liu

Tianjin Key Laboratory of Composite and Functional Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300350 P. R. China

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Qian Liu

Qian Liu

School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072 P. R. China

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Hao Qi

Hao Qi

School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072 P. R. China

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Yuesheng Li

Corresponding Author

Yuesheng Li

Tianjin Key Laboratory of Composite and Functional Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300350 P. R. China

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

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Dong-Po Song

Corresponding Author

Dong-Po Song

Tianjin Key Laboratory of Composite and Functional Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300350 P. R. China

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

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First published: 16 May 2023

Abstract

Microspheres bearing large pores are useful in the capture and separation of biomolecules. However, pore size is typically poorly controlled, leading to disordered porous structures with limited performances. Herein, ordered porous spheres with a layer of cations on the internal surface of the nanopores are facilely fabricated in a single step for effective loading of DNA bearing negative charges. Triblock bottlebrush copolymers (BBCPs), (polynorbornene-g-polystyrene)-b-(polynorbornene-g-polyethylene oxide)-b-(polynorbornene-g-bromoethane) (PNPS-b-PNPEO-b-PNBr), are designed and synthesized for fabrication of the positively charged porous spheres through self-assembly and in situ quaternization during an organized spontaneous emulsification (OSE) process. Pore diameter as well as charge density increase with the increase of PNBr content, resulting in a significant increase of loading density from 4.79 to 22.5 ng µg−1 within the spheres. This work provides a general strategy for efficient loading and encapsulation of DNA, which may be extended to a variety of different areas for different real applications.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available in the supplementary material of this article.

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