ACS Macro LettersPub Date : 2026-10-20DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.6c00484
Ke Li,Xueting Lu,Afang Zhang,Wen Li
{"title":"Thermoresponsive Chiral Polymeric Microgels through In Situ Cross-Linking Polymerization of Thermally Aggregated Dendritic Phenylacetylenes","authors":"Ke Li,Xueting Lu,Afang Zhang,Wen Li","doi":"10.1021/acsmacrolett.6c00484","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsmacrolett.6c00484","url":null,"abstract":"Fabrication of chiral microgels through in situ cross-linking polymerization of thermally aggregated chiral dendronized phenylacetylene (PA) macromonomers is reported. These macromonomers bear either ethoxyl- (more hydrophobic) or methoxyl-terminated (more hydrophilic) dendritic oligo(ethylene glycol)s (OEGs), affording tunable thermoresponsive properties with distinct cloud points (Tcps). Systematic optimization of polymerization parameters─including macromonomer hydrophilicity and concentration, temperature, stirring rate, and cross-linker loading─enables the convenient one-pot synthesis of cross-linked chiral microgels with uniform spherical morphology and stable helicity from the thermally aggregated monomeric mesoglobules. Notably, this surfactant-free strategy offers a significant advantage over conventional microgel preparation methods. Moreover, the approach is versatile and readily extendable to the one-pot fabrication of other nano-objects via polymerization from aggregated monomers.","PeriodicalId":18,"journal":{"name":"ACS Macro Letters","volume":"56 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149221525","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ACS Macro LettersPub Date : 2026-10-20Epub Date: 2026-09-12DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.6c00384
Congting Wei, Yuzhe Ma, Fengyi Cai, Hailong Che
{"title":"Construction and Photoresponsive Transformation of Multicompartment Vesicles Based on Cyanoethenylene-Bearing Amphiphilic Block Copolymers","authors":"Congting Wei, Yuzhe Ma, Fengyi Cai, Hailong Che","doi":"10.1021/acsmacrolett.6c00384","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acsmacrolett.6c00384","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Polymer self-assembly represents a promising strategyto fabricatenanostructures with great potential for biomimetic applications. Nevertheless,the precise and controllable construction of cell-like multicompartmentarchitectures still remains a challenge. Herein, we propose a facile,high-efficiency strategy to construct multicompartment vesicles viaself-assembly of amphiphilic block copolymers bearing cyanoethenylenemoieties. The copolymers initially self-assemble into uniform sphericalvesicles, which were transformed into multicompartment nanostructuresdriven by modulation of osmotic pressure during solvent switchingprocess. Furthermore, ultraviolet (UV) irradiation induces intermolecular[2+2] cycloaddition of cyanoethenylene groups, which further promotespolymer chain rearrangement and intensified microphase separation.Consequently, the initial large compound vesicles evolve into monodispersespherical multicompartment nanospheres equipped with discrete internalcavities. The findings in this study offer a versatile platform forthe rational design and fabrication of biomimetic multicompartmentnanosystems.</p>","PeriodicalId":18,"journal":{"name":"ACS Macro Letters","volume":"15 10","pages":"1475–1482"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148973866","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Dual-Targeting Nanoplatform Integrating Metabolic Glycan Labeling and Bioorthogonal Chemistry for Precise Delivery of Oxaliplatin to PSMA-Positive Prostate Cancer","authors":"Guoliang Xu, Renhao Chang, Song Huang, Huijiao Ding, Wei Zhang, Songshen Chu, Feiyang Gao, Shankai Zhao, Lianqu Wang, Liqun Zhou, Jing Ma, Jiajia Wang","doi":"10.1021/acsmacrolett.6c00402","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acsmacrolett.6c00402","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Platinum-basedchemotherapy drugs are widely used inthe treatmentof various cancers due to their broad antitumor spectrum, but theirclinical application is severely limited by significant systemic toxicityresulting from nonspecific cytotoxicity. Prostate-specific membraneantigen (PSMA), which is highly overexpressed in most prostate cancer(PCa) cells, presents a promising target for tumor-selective drugdelivery. In this study, we designed and synthesized a novel dual-targetingnanoplatform that combines metabolic glycan labeling and bioorthogonalchemistry for the precise delivery of oxaliplatin (OXP) to PSMA-positiveprostate cancer cells. The nanoplatform (DDM-NPs) is functionalizedwith DUPA, a high-affinity PSMA ligand, and encapsulates Ac<sub>4</sub>ManNAz for metabolic cell surface engineering. Subsequently, a bioorthogonalreaction between the azido-labeled cells and the bicyclo[6.1.0]non-4-yne(BCN)-conjugated prodrug (BCN-OXP) enhanced cellular uptake and cytotoxicityin PSMA-high-expressed cell lines (22Rv1) compared to PSMA-low-expressedcells (PC-3) <em>in vitro</em> and <em>in vivo</em>. Our work establishes a promising strategy to enhance the therapeuticindex of platinum drugs through active targeting and bioorthogonalreactions, offering a potential avenue for more effective and saferprostate cancer therapy.</p>","PeriodicalId":18,"journal":{"name":"ACS Macro Letters","volume":"15 10","pages":"1506–1516"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148973901","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ACS Macro LettersPub Date : 2026-10-20Epub Date: 2026-09-23DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.6c00412
Eddy W. P. Tan, Yi Yan Yang, James L. Hedrick, Nathaniel H. Park
{"title":"Rapid Functionalization of Polycarbonates and Polyurethanes via Organocatalyzed SNAr","authors":"Eddy W. P. Tan, Yi Yan Yang, James L. Hedrick, Nathaniel H. Park","doi":"10.1021/acsmacrolett.6c00412","DOIUrl":"10.1021/acsmacrolett.6c00412","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Robust methodologies for polymer postsynthesis functionalizationenable preparation of new high-performance material scaffolds withuniquely tailored properties. Here we demonstrate that polycarbonatescontaining pendant fluoroarene groups provide a convenient handlefor incorporation of different functional thiols into the polymerbackbone via organocatalytic nucleophilic aromatic substitution usingsilyl-protected thiols. This transformation proceeds under mild conditionsand can be performed in a single pot immediately following polymerizationor on purified substrates in a second step. In both cases, the transformationis typically complete within 5 min. Overall, the methodology presentedherein enables a more convergent approach for development of functionalhigh-performance materials.</p>","PeriodicalId":18,"journal":{"name":"ACS Macro Letters","volume":"15 10","pages":"1523–1531"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2026-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149013693","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
ACS Macro LettersPub Date : 2026-10-16DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.6c00455
Chenyu Yao,Yulong Li,Chaowei Xing,Panghui Ge,Zihao Gao,Zongbao Wang
{"title":"Fabrication\u0000and Structure–Property Relationship\u0000of High-Strength UHMWPE Films with Enhanced Thermal Conductivity","authors":"Chenyu Yao,Yulong Li,Chaowei Xing,Panghui Ge,Zihao Gao,Zongbao Wang","doi":"10.1021/acsmacrolett.6c00455","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acsmacrolett.6c00455","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) shows great application potential in flexible electronic thermal management and lightweight protection due to its low density, superior specific strength, and excellent electrical insulation. However, previous studies mainly focus on independently optimizing the mechanical or thermal conductivity (TC) of UHMWPE films, while the underlying mechanism of simultaneous regulation of both properties via crystalline structures remains unclear. In this work, shish crystals were retained during UHMWPE dissolution to enable sufficient chain disentanglement. Combined with multistage hot drawing, a strongly oriented crystalline structure was constructed to fabricate mechanically strong UHMWPE films with enhanced TC. The synergistic regulation mechanism of crystal evolution during ultradrawing on mechanical and thermal transport properties was systematically investigated. Increasing the draw ratio (DR) extends and orients molecular chains in densely entangled amorphous regions, promoting abundant short, small-diameter new shish crystals and improving the regularity of retained shish crystals. The concurrent rise in shish crystal orientation and total content optimizes both stress transfer efficiency and phonon transport pathways. At a DR of 48.5, the film achieves an in-plane TC of 42.1 W m–1 K–1 at 25 °C and a tensile strength of 1.49 GPa. This work provides new insights for the industrial preparation of advanced-performance flexible UHMWPE films.","PeriodicalId":18,"journal":{"name":"ACS Macro Letters","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149210156","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}