Assembly of Multicompartment Glycopolymer Worms in Aqueous Solution

Hierarchical self-assembly is a versatile technique that allows the formation of many complex architectures on the nano- and microscale. However, many of these structures are formed in harsh organic solvents with nonbiocompatible polymers. Here, we investigate in more detail a synthetic path to produce biologically compatible, crosslinked, multicompartment worms (MCWs) in aqueous solution by incorporating thermoresponsive poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (PNIPAM) to direct assembly above the lower critical solution temperature (LCST). As the self-assembly into MCWs can be controlled externally by adjusting the temperature, we can provide new insight into the mechanism of hierarchical self-assembly. The growth of MCWs starting from primary micelles was observed above the LCST using in situ small-angle neutron scattering, dynamic light scattering, atomic force microscopy, and phase contrast microscopy.