Identification of the collapse mechanism of responsive block copolymer brushes for controlled gene delivery

Dense polymer brushes have exceptional potential to regulate the sequestration of RNA/DNA materials for high efficiency gene transfection. Polycationic brushes decorating the surface of nanoparticles have promising properties for the stable capture of RNA oligonucleotides and high transfection efficiencies. A new generation of such vectors proposes to use block copolymer brushes to mimic compartmentalised hierarchical virus structures. However, control of responsive block copolymer brushes’ architecture remains poor at the nanoscale. This proposal’s objective is to resolve the thickness-dependent morphological changes (domain/homogenous barrier formation) of amphiphilic block copolymer brushes grown from solid (Si) substrates. It will contribute to the confirmation and refinement of existing computational modelling studies and to the elucidation of their properties for gene delivery.