Access to Photoreactive Core‐Shell Nanomaterials by Photoinitiated Polymerization‐Induced Self‐Assembly

(Bio)degradable and Biocompatible Nano-Objects from Polymerization-Induced and Crystallization-Driven Self-Assembly

Polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) and crystallization-driven self-assembly (CDSA) techniques have emerged as powerful approaches to produce a broad range of advanced synthetic nano-objects with high potential in biomedical applications. PISA produces nano-objects of different morphologies (e.g., spheres, vesicles and worms), with high solids content (∼10-50 wt %) and without additional surfactant. CDSA can finely control the self-assembly of block copolymers and readily forms nonspherical crystalline nano-objects and more complex, hierarchical assemblies, with spatial and dimensional control over particle length or surface area, which is typically difficult to achieve by PISA. Considering the importance of these two assembly techniques in the current scientific landscape of block copolymer self-assembly and the craze for their use in the biomedical field, this review will focus on the advances in PISA and CDSA to produce nano-objects suitable for biomedical applications in terms of (bio)degradability and biocompatibility. This review will therefore discuss these two aspects in order to guide the future design of block copolymer nanoparticles for future translation toward clinical applications.

Non-thermally initiated RAFT polymerization-induced self-assembly

This review summarizes the recent non-thermal initiation methods in RAFT mediated polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA), including photo-, redox/oscillatory reaction-, enzyme- and ultrasound wave-initiation.

Stabilizing self-assembled nano-objects using light-driven tetrazole chemistry

Tetrazole-driven photochemistry is exploited for the stabilization of self-assembled morphologies via light-triggered nitrile imine carboxylic acid ligation (NICAL).

Boron-rich, cytocompatible block copolymer nanoparticles by polymerization-induced self-assembly

A new methacrylic boronate ester is synthesized and exploited to produce biocompatible nanoparticles with a boron-rich core by PISA.