Mechanical Characterization of Hybrid Vesicles Based on Linear Poly(Dimethylsiloxane-b-Ethylene Oxide) and Poly(Butadiene-b-Ethylene Oxide) Block Copolymers

Authors

Jeffery Gaspard
Liam M. Casey
Matt Rozin
Dany J. Munoz Pinto, Trinity UniversityFollow
James A. Silas
Mariah S. Hahn

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-2016

Abstract

Poly(dimethylsiloxane-ethylene oxide) (PDMS-PEO) and poly(butadiene-b-ethylene oxide) (PBd-PEO) are two block copolymers which separately form vesicles with disparate membrane permeabilities and fluidities. Thus, hybrid vesicles formed from both PDMS-PEO and PBd-PEO may ultimately allow for systematic, application-specific tuning of vesicle membrane fluidity and permeability. However, given the relatively low strength previously noted for comb-type PDMS-PEO vesicles, the mechanical robustness of the resulting hybrid vesicles must first be confirmed. Toward this end, we have characterized the mechanical behavior of vesicles formed from mixtures of linear PDMS-PEO and linear PBd-PEO using micropipette aspiration. Tension versus strain plots of pure PDMS₁₂-PEO₄₆ vesicles revealed a non-linear response in the high tension regime, in contrast to the approximately linear response of pure PBd₃₃-PEO₂₀ vesicles. Remarkably, the area expansion modulus, critical tension, and cohesive energy density of PDMS₁₂-PEO₄₆ vesicles were each significantly greater than for PBd₃₃-PEO₂₀ vesicles, although critical strain was not significantly different between these vesicle types. PDMS₁₂-PEO₄₆/PBd₃₃-PEO₂₀ hybrid vesicles generally displayed graded responses in between that of the pure component vesicles. Thus, the PDMS₁₂-PEO₄₆/PBd₃₃-PEO₂₀ hybrid vesicles retained or exceeded the strength and toughness characteristic of pure PBd-PEO vesicles, indicating that future assessment of the membrane permeability and fluidity of these hybrid vesicles may be warranted.

Identifier

10.3390/s16030390

Publisher

MDPI AG

City

Basel, Switzerland

Repository Citation

Gaspard, J., Casey, L. M., Rozin, M., Munoz-Pinto, D. J., Silas, J. A., & Hahn, M. S. (2016). Mechanical characterization of hybrid vesicles based on linear poly(dimethylsiloxane-b-ethylene oxide) and poly(butadiene-b-ethylene oxide) block copolymers. Sensors, 16(3), 1-12. doi: 10.3390/s16030390

Publication Information

Sensors