Hyperbranched polyethylenimines as versatile precursors for the preparation of different type of unimolecular micelles

Abstract Hyperbranched polyethylenimine (HPEI) was successfully employed as precursor for the preparation of unimolecular inverted and aqueous micelles. The unimolecular inverted micelles (UIMs) obtained by the amidation of HPEI with 1,1′-carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) activated palmitic acid exhibited high encapsulation efficiency for hydrophilic anionic dyes and the efficiency could be enhanced significantly by decreasing the degree of amidation or quaternizing the residual amines. The weight ratio of loaded guests to the amidated HPEIs was not dependent on the molecular weight of HPEI core when the degree of amidation was kept constant. Decreasing the length of the aliphatic chain from 16 to …