Alternating partially quaternized polytriazole amphiphiles: bridging neutral and ionic domains for tunable...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Poly(1,2,3-triazole)-based polymers are underexplored for biomedical soft materials.
• Developing versatile and biocompatible polymers is crucial for advanced biointerface engineering.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report the modular synthesis of amphiphilic poly(1,2,3-triazole)-co-polytriazolium copolymers.
• To investigate the solvent-dependent optical properties and supramolecular aggregation behavior of these novel copolymers.
• To evaluate the cytocompatibility and immunogenicity of the synthesized polymers for potential biomedical applications.

Main Methods:

• Copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) polyaddition followed by post-polymerization quaternization.
• Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) for hydrodynamic size determination.
• UV-vis spectroscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) for optical and morphological analysis.
• Cell viability assays using human cell lines (HeLa, HEK293, THP-1).

Main Results:

• Successfully synthesized amphiphilic poly(1,2,3-triazole)-co-polytriazolium copolymers (qH-PETH) with a degree of quaternization of 0.85.
• Observed unusual, solvent-dependent visible colorations (colorless to orange) attributed to supramolecular aggregation.
• Demonstrated significant changes in hydrodynamic diameter (<20 nm in water to ~500 nm in chloroform) indicating aggregation in low-polarity solvents.
• Confirmed aggregation-induced optical effects modulated by solvent polarity and hydrogen-bonding capacity via UV-vis and AFM.
• Exhibited excellent cytocompatibility and no detectable immunogenic activation toward human cell lines up to 100 μg mL⁻¹.

Conclusions:

• Poly(1,2,3-triazole)-co-polytriazolium copolymers represent a promising, tunable platform for biocompatible soft materials.
• The observed solvent-dependent optical properties due to supramolecular aggregation offer potential for responsive material design.
• These materials are suitable for biointerface engineering and various responsive biomedical applications due to their biocompatibility and tunable nature.