Structure of pluronic F-127 and its tetraphenylporphyrin complexes: X-ray diffraction study

The structure of pluronic F-127 and its complexes with tetraphenylporphyrin has been studied by SAXS and WAXS techniques. It has been shown that the samples prepared via evaporation of chloroform and aqueous solutions of pluronic and its mixtures with tetraphenylporphyrin have a semicrystalline layered structure with the crystalline phase composed of poly(ethylene oxide). The identity period of layers in the samples prepared from the aqueous solution of pluronic has been found to be larger than that in the samples prepared from chloroform solutions of the polymer. This result may apparently be explained by a more pronounced hydration of the samples prepared by the former method. The presence of tetraphenylporphyrin in the samples has an insignificant effect on the parameters of the crystalline and layered structures of pluronic. When the tetraphenylporphyrin content is not larger than its solubilization limit with pluronic, tetraphenylporphyrin concentrates in the amorphous layers of pluronic in the noncrystalline finely dispersed state.