1. Loading and release mechanisms of a biocide in polystyrene-block-poly(acrylic acid) block copolymer micelles.
- Author
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Vyhnalkova R, Eisenberg A, and van de Ven TG
- Subjects
- Micelles, Solubility, Thermodynamics, Water chemistry, Acrylic Resins chemistry, Chemistry, Pharmaceutical methods, Disinfectants administration & dosage, Drug Carriers, Drug Delivery Systems, Polystyrenes chemistry
- Abstract
The kinetics of loading of polystyrene197-block-poly(acrylic acid)47 (PS197-b-PAA47) micelles, suspended in water, with thiocyanomethylthiobenzothiazole biocide and its subsequent release were investigated. Loading of the micelles was found to be a two-step process. First, the surface of the PS core of the micelles is saturated with biocide, with a rate determined by the transfer of solid biocide to micelles during transient micelle-biocide contacts. Next, the biocide penetrates as a front into the micelles, lowering the Tg in the process (non-Fickian case II diffusion). The slow rate of release is governed by the height of the energy barrier that a biocide molecule must overcome to pass from PS into water, resulting in a uniform biocide concentration within the micelle, until Tg is increased to the point that diffusion inside the micelles becomes very slow. Maximum loading of biocide into micelles is approximately 30% (w/w) and is achieved in 1 h. From partition experiments, it can be concluded that the biocide has a similar preference for polystyrene as for ethylbenzene over water, implying that the maximum loading is governed by thermodynamics.
- Published
- 2008
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