Issue 5, 2023

Thermo- and pH-responsive poly[(diethylene glycol methyl ether methacrylate)-co-(2-diisopropylamino ethyl methacrylate)] hyperbranched copolymers: self-assembly and drug-loading

Abstract

We present the synthesis of a new series of thermo- and pH-responsive poly[(diethylene glycol methyl ether methacrylate)-co-(2-diisopropylamino ethyl methacrylate)], P(DEGMA-co-DIPAEMA), hyperbranched copolymers and studies regarding their self-assembly in aqueous media. Three P(DEGMA-co-DIPAEMA) hyperbranched copolymers, with different ratios of hydrophobic to hydrophilic segments, are synthesized via reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization using the branching agent ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA). By employing several physicochemical characterization techniques, it was possible to determine the properties of self-assembled nanostructures, which are responsive to changes in aqueous solution temperature and pH. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) verified the formation of nano-aggregates in aqueous media, in particular at pH 3 and at both low and high temperatures (25 °C, 55 °C), where all hyperbranched copolymers form the largest aggregates compared to the other two pH conditions investigated (i.e., pH 7 and pH 10). In addition, the hyperbranched copolymers were able to encapsulate the hydrophobic drug indomethacin (IND) at different loading ratios. IND release experiments were performed at pH 7, and revealed that a high amount of the entrapped IND is strongly attached to the hydrophobic domains of the hyperbranched copolymer aggregates. The acquired data are encouraging for the potential of these novel hyperbranched copolymers to be used as nanocarrier systems for medicinal applications.

Graphical abstract: Thermo- and pH-responsive poly[(diethylene glycol methyl ether methacrylate)-co-(2-diisopropylamino ethyl methacrylate)] hyperbranched copolymers: self-assembly and drug-loading

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
18 nov 2022
Accepted
28 dec 2022
First published
28 dec 2022
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Polym. Chem., 2023,14, 587-599

Thermo- and pH-responsive poly[(diethylene glycol methyl ether methacrylate)-co-(2-diisopropylamino ethyl methacrylate)] hyperbranched copolymers: self-assembly and drug-loading

D. Selianitis and S. Pispas, Polym. Chem., 2023, 14, 587 DOI: 10.1039/D2PY01447E

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements