Chain exchange kinetics of diblock copolymer micelles studied by nonradiative energy transfer. 1. Experimental design and theory

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Abstract
A fluorescence experiment involving mixing donor-labeled micelles with acceptor-labeled unimers has been designed and a kinetic scheme for describing such an experiment has been proposed. An approximate analytical solution was found for the decrease in the donor fluorescence intensity at time t after sample mixing relative to that at time zero, I(t)/I(0). Treating the data of this decrease in donor fluorescence intensity as a function of time using the derived equation allows the simultaneous determination of the rate constant kn for unimer incorporation into micelles and the quenching efficiency φ of donor fluorescence by an acceptor in a micelle. Keywords: polymer micelles, dynamics, chain exchange, energy transfer.