TY - JOUR A1 - Lutz, J.-F. A1 - Pfeifer, S. A1 - Chanana, M. A1 - Thünemann, Andreas A1 - Bienert, Ralf T1 - H-Bonding-Directed Self-Assembly of Synthetic Copolymers Containing Nucleobases: Organization and Colloidal Fusion in a Noncompetitive Solvent JF - Langmuir N2 - The self-organization of random copolymers composed of a nucleobase monomer (either 1-(4-vinylbenzyl)thymine or 9-(4-vinylbenzyl)adenine) and dodecyl methacrylate (DMA) was studied in dilute chloroform solutions. The balance between the molar fractions of the nucleobase monomer (leading to intermolecular H-bonding) and DMA (soluble moiety in chloroform) in the polymer chains was found to be the parameter that principally influences the self-organization. DMA-rich copolymers are molecularly soluble in chloroform, whereas nucleobase-rich copolymers are insoluble in this solvent. Copolymers possessing an equimolar comonomer composition self-assemble into micrometer-sized particles physically cross-linked by intermolecular H-bonds (either thymine-thymine or adenine-adenine interactions, depending on the studied copolymer). Nevertheless, when mixed together, thymine- and adenine-based colloids fuse into thermodynamically stable microspheres cross linked by adenine-thymine interactions. KW - Synthetic polymers KW - Self-organization KW - H-bonding KW - Nucleobases KW - Confocal fluorescence microscopy PY - 2006 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/la061382a SN - 0743-7463 SN - 1520-5827 VL - 22 IS - 17 SP - 7411 EP - 7415 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington, DC AN - OPUS4-12637 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -