Temperature-induced morphological change of ABC 3-miktoarm star terpolymer assemblies in aqueous solution

This work reports temperature-induced morphological change of ABC 3-miktoarm star terpolymer assemblies in aqueous solution. The terpolymer (MPEG)(PCL)(PPE) is composed of hydrophilic monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol) (MPEG), hydrophobic poly(ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) and thermosensitive polyphosphoester (PPE) chains, emanating from a central junction point. It is thermosensitive in aqueous solution, forming spherical micelles at lower temperature, which transition to short nano-rod morphology at temperature higher than the cloud point. The temperature induced morphological transition of this biodegradable miktoarm star terpolymer shows that it has potential in stimulus-controlled drug delivery applications.