Transition metal-catalyzed one-pot synthesis of water-soluble dendritic molecular nanocarriers

Here, we report the first example of transition metal-catalyzed one-pot synthesis of water-soluble dendritic molecular nanocarriers behaving like unimolecular micelles. Using the palladium-alpha-diimine chain walking catalyst, copolymerization of ethylene and comonomer 3 afforded, in one step, amphiphilic copolymer 1 having a hydrophobic core and a hydrophilic shell. A much larger amphiphilic core-shell copolymer 2 was synthesized by a two-step approach: a copolymer having many free hydroxyl groups was first prepared, which was subsequently coupled to poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to afford the copolymer 2. Light-scattering, fluorescence, and UV/vis spectroscopic studies with Nile Red in aqueous solution showed unimolecular micellar properties for both copolymers 1 and 2. The dye encapsulation capacity for the core-shell copolymers is nearly proportional to the molecular weight of the hydrophobic core. The unimolecular micellar properties coupled with the good water solubility and biocompatibility of the PEG moieties make these molecular nanocarriers promising candidates for many applications including drug delivery and controlled drug release.