Urea decreases specific ion effects on the LCST of PMMA-block-PDMAEMA aggregates

Abstract

Urea is a well-known additive used as a mild protein denaturant. The effect of urea on proteins, micellar systems and other colloids is still under debate. In particular, urea has shown interesting effects on the ion binding in systems like charged micelles, vesicles or Langmuir-Blodgett films. The urea effect on polymeric aggregates in water is still an open field. For instance, the additive may affect properties such as cmc, LCST, UCST and others. In particular, LCST is a property that can be very convenient for designing smart systems that respond to temperature. Previous studies have indicated that the LCST of positive charged copolymers aggregates based on poly[N-dimethyl(ethylamine methacrylate)], PDMAEMA, can be nicely modulated by anions in aqueous solution and such phenomenon depends on the nature of the anion present. In this work, it has been demonstrated that urea also affects the LCST of PMMAblock-PDMAEMA aggregates in aqueous solution. In addition, in the presence of high concentrations of the additive, the specific behavior of the anions is lost, supporting the general mechanism of urea reducing the differences on ion binding to surfaces in aqueous solutions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time those phenomena are shown in polymer micelles.