Thermo-sensitive complex micelles from sodium alginate-graft-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) for drug release

Polymer micelles with environmentally sensitive properties have potential applications in biomedicine. In this paper, thermo-sensitive complex micelles assembled from biocompatible graft copolymers sodium alginate-graft-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (SA-g-PNIPAM) and divalent metal ions were prepared for controlled drug release. The polymer micelles had core-corona structure, which was constituted by metal ions (Ba(2+), Zn(2+), Co(2+)) cross-linked sodium alginate as the core and thermo-sensitive PNIPAM chains as the corona. Formation of polymer micelles was determined by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The polymer micelles were observed as regular spheres with good polydispersity and excellent performance on drug encapsulation and release ability. The cumulative release of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) from micelles was controlled by pH, ionic strength or temperature of surroundings. The superior properties of sensitive polymer micelles induced by metal ions are expected to be utilized in controlled drug delivery systems.