Photo-Triggered Disassembly of Phosphorylcholine-Based pH-Responsive Block Copolymer Micelles via Encapsulated Photoacid Generators
We propose a strategy to trigger micelle disassembly upon light irradiation by encapsulating a photoacid generator (PAG) within pH-responsive polymer micelles. A diblock copolymer composed of hydrophilic, biocompatible poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) (PMPC) and pH-responsive poly(2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDEA), denoted as PMPC-<i>b</i>-PDEA (M<sub>100</sub>D<sub>96</sub>), was synthesized via reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization. Under