HPMA copolymers as surfactants in the preparation of biocompatible nanoparticles for biomedical application

In this work we describe the application of amphiphilic N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA)-based copolymers as polymeric surfactants in miniemulsion techniques. HPMA-based copolymers with different ratios of HPMA (hydrophilic) to laurylmethacrylate (LMA; hydrophobic) units were synthesized by RAFT polymerization and postpolymerization modification. The amphiphilic polymers can act as detergents in both the miniemulsion polymerization of styrene and the miniemulsion process in combination with solvent evaporation, which was applied to polystyrene and polylactide. Under optimized conditions, monodisperse colloids can be prepared. The most promising results could be obtained by using the block copolymer with a ratio of 90/10. Preliminary cell uptake studies showed that polymer-stabilized nanoparticles have only minor unspecific cellular internalization in HeLa cells. Furthermore, cytotoxicity assays showed no particle-attributed toxicity. In addition, the copolymer-stabilized particles preserved the shape and size in human blood serum as demonstrated by dynamic light scattering.