In situ polymerization of a bicellar mixture composed of a phospholipid and polymerizable surfactants afforded unprecedented stable bicelles. The polymerized composite showed an aligned phase over a wide thermal range (25 to >90 °C) with excellent ²H quadrupole splitting of the solvent signal, thus implying versatility as an alignment medium for NMR studies. Crosslinking of the surfactants also brought favorable effects on the kinetic stability and alignment morphology of the bicelles. This system could thus offer a new class of scaffolds for biomembrane models.

In situ polymerization of a bicellar mixture composed of a phospholipid and polymerizable surfactants afforded unprecedented stable bicelles. The polymerized composite showed an aligned phase over a wide thermal range (25 to >90 °C) with excellent ²H quadrupole splitting of the solvent signal, thus implying versatility as an alignment medium for NMR studies. Crosslinking of the surfactants also brought favorable effects on the kinetic stability and alignment morphology of the bicelles. This system could thus offer a new class of scaffolds for biomembrane models.

Novel clay–polymer composite hydrogels with high water content (up to 98 wt %) are developed, in which mechanical properties are reinforced by the formation of multiple ion-pairs between the polymer chains and clay nanosheets (CNS). When a small amount of guanidinium-pendant methacrylamide (0.1–0.2 wt %) is copolymerized with a neutral monomer (0.5–2.0 wt %) in an aqueous dispersion of CNS (1.0–3.0 wt %), a self-standing hydrogel with satisfactory mechanical toughness and elasticity results, despite its high water content (95–98 wt %). The mechanical properties and swelling behaviors of the hydrogels can be tuned by the amount of the guanidinium-pendant acrylamide. A systematic study indicates that the ion pairs, formed between the guanidinium groups in the polymer chains and the oxyanions on the surfaces of the CNS, serve as crosslinking points in the three-dimensional network developed in these hydrogels. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014, 52, 839–847

Cross-linked polymers prepared by the in-situ polymerization of liquid-crystalline salts were found to work as solid-state hosts with a flexible framework. As a component of such hosts, four kinds of polymerizable amphiphilic carboxylic acids bearing alkyl chains with acryloyloxy (A), dienyl (D), and/or nonreactive (N) chain ends (monomeric carboxylic acids; M_AAA, M_ANA, M_DDD, and M_DND) were used. The carboxylic acids were mixed with an equimolar amount of a template unit, (1R,2S)-norephedrine (guest amine; G_RS), to form the corresponding salts. Every salt exhibited a rectangular columnar LC phase at room temperature, which was successfully polymerized by ⁶⁰Co γ-ray-induced polymerization without serious structural disordering to afford the salt of cross-linked carboxylic acid (polymeric carboxylic acid; P_AAA, P_ANA, P_DDD, and P_DND) with G_RS. Owing to the noncovalency of the interactions between the polymer framework P and the template G_RS, the cross-linked polymers could reversibly release and capture a meaningful amount of G_RS. In response to the desorption and adsorption of G_RS, the cross-linked polymers dramatically switched their nanoscale structural order. A systematic comparison of the polymers revealed that the choice of polymerizable groups has a significant influence on the properties of the resultant polymer frameworks as solid-state hosts. Among these polymers, P_DDD was found to be an excellent solid-state host, in terms of guest-releasing/capturing ability, guest-recognition ability, durability to repetitive usage, and unique structural switching mode.