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Self-assembling Morphologies Obtained from Helical Polycarbodiimide Copolymers and Their Triazole Derivatives
Published on: February 7, 2017
pH-dependent self-assembling behavior of imidazole-containing polyaspartamide derivatives
Kwangwon Seo1, Jong-Duk Kim, Dukjoon Kim
1Department of Chemical Engineering, Polymer Technology Institute, Sungkyunkwan University, 300 Chunchun-Dong, Jangan-Gu, Suwon, Kyungki 440-746, Korea.
Journal of Biomedical Materials Research. Part A
|June 20, 2008
Summary
New pH-sensitive polyaspartamide derivatives with imidazole groups show reversible aggregation for drug delivery. These polymers exhibit tunable properties, making them promising for targeted intracellular or tumor delivery systems.
Area of Science:
- Polymer Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Development of smart materials for drug delivery is crucial.
- pH-responsive polymers offer targeted release capabilities.
- Polyaspartamides are versatile scaffolds for functionalization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize and characterize novel pH-sensitive polyaspartamide derivatives.
- To investigate the impact of polymer composition on pH-responsiveness.
- To evaluate the potential of these derivatives as drug delivery carriers.
Main Methods:
- Grafting of 1-(3-aminopropyl)imidazole (API) and O-(2-aminoethyl)-O'-methylpolyethylene glycol (MPEG) onto polyaspartamide.
- UV transmittance measurements to assess pH-dependence.
- Dynamic light scattering to determine aggregate size.
- Critical aggregation concentration (CAC) studies.
Main Results:
- Polymer solutions exhibited sharp pH-dependence around pH 7 due to imidazole protonation/deprotonation.
- High buffering capacity observed between pH 5.5 and 7.
- Reversible pH-dependent aggregation and deaggregation were confirmed.
- Aggregate size ranged from 100-220 nm, tunable by polymer composition and pH.
- CAC decreased with increasing API substitution and increased with decreasing pH for specific derivatives.
Conclusions:
- Synthesized polyaspartamide derivatives demonstrate significant pH-sensitivity.
- Tunable aggregation behavior makes them suitable for controlled drug release.
- Potential applications include intracellular and tumor-targeted drug delivery systems triggered by minor pH changes.
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