Impact of alkyl chain length of self-assembly of aminoalkyl cellulose

Aminoalkyl cellulose derivatives are bioactive polymers that have demonstrated important application as nanomicelles in biomedicines. However, the self-assembly behavior of aminoalkyl cellulose into nano micelles remains unclear. In this study, aminoalkyl cellulose with different degree of substitution (0.12–0.81) and varying alkyl chain lengths (C2-C6) were synthesized using tosylcellulose as an intermediate. The as-prepared aminoalkyl cellulose self-assembled into nanomicelles with particle size ranging from 121 nm to 185 nm, and ζ potential from 37.5 mV to 30.1 mV. Both the particle size and ζ-potential of the aminoalkyl cellulose micelles can be regulated by the degree of substitution, chain length of aminoalkyl groups, solution pH, ion strength, addition of fatty acids, and storage time. These findings shed light on the preparation of nanomicelles from amino cellulose derivatives, which hold important applications as biological materials.