Specifications of Biodegradable Restricted PCL and PLLA Chains in Biocompatible PEG-b-PCL and PEG-b-PLLA Single Crystals

Single crystals of double crystalline block copolymers of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-b-poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and PEG-b-poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) were grown from dilute solution in homo- and mixed-brush systems. Crystallization behavior of biodegradable one end-restricted crystallizable PCL and PLLA chains in homo- and mixed-brush nanostructures were investigated. Chemical and physical circumstances of crystallizable brushes were altered. Physical environment was adjusted by amorphism/crystallinity and rigidity/flexibility of neighboring brushes. Chemical environment was manipulated by interaction and miscibility of various brushes. Distinct single crystals were grown with mixed-brushes of amorphous-crystalline (polystyrene (PS), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), PCL and PLLA, double crystalline (PCL/PLLA), and rod-crystalline polyaniline (PANI)/PCL or PLLA. Surrounding was only effective on hindrance or nucleation commencement of crystallization for crystallizable brushes and had no effect on crystallization features. Novel three-layer fully single crystalline nanostructures, whose characteristics were fixed via changing the crystallization temperature, were also developed. For long crystallizable tethers, crystallization increased both brush and substrate thicknesses.