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Updated: Mar 29, 2026

Electroactive Polymer Nanoparticles Exhibiting Photothermal Properties
Published on: January 8, 2016
Surface Charge Convertible and Biodegradable Synthetic Zwitterionic Nanoparticles for Enhancing Cellular Drug Uptake
Luyan Wu1, Caihua Ni1, Liping Zhang1
1The Key Laboratory of Food Colloids and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China.
Abstract:
To enhance drug cellular uptake, a biodegradable terpolymer is synthesized using taurine, N,N-Bis (acryloyl) cystamine, and dodecylamine as raw materials by Michael addition terpolymerization. The terpolymer is transformed to zwitterionic nanoparticles (NPs) through self-assembly. The surface charge of the NPs is convertible from negative at pH 7.4 to positive at pH 6.5, which endows the NPs' excellent nonfouling feature in bloodstream and effective uptake in tumor cells. The NPs display varied morphologies from solid micelles to polymersomes and nanorods depending on molar ratios of the structural units involved. The NPs can be biodegraded in l-glutathione (GSH) solution due to the split of disulfide bonds in main chains of the terpolymers. The NPs demonstrate good pH/reducing responsiveness in drug delivery and can be potentially used as anticancer drug vehicles for enhancement of cellular uptake of anticancer drug.
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