Poly(2-oxazoline) glycopolymers with tunable LCST behavior

A series of thermo-responsive glyco-poly(2-oxazoline)s based on 2-ethyl-2-oxazoline and 2-(dec-9-enyl)-2-oxazoline were prepared. To study the effect of the sugar content on the solution behavior in water, two sets of copolymers with constant monomer-to-initiator ratios of 20 and 50 and varying amounts of the hydrophobic alkene functionalized monomer were synthesized. The glycopolymers were obtained by the photoaddition of 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-1-thio-beta-D-glycopyranose onto the double bonds followed by deacetylation of the saccharide residues. Turbidimetry measurements of the respective glycopolymers revealed a decreasing cloud point temperature with increasing amount of sugar moieties, proposed to be caused by hydrogen bonding between the sugars and the polymer amide groups, which is enabled by the flexibility of the long decyl spacer. Due to the linear relationship between cloud point temperatures and the sugar content, the cloud points can be easily tailored for specific applications

A sugar decorated macrornolecular bottle brush by carbohydrate-initiated cationic ring-opening polymerization

The capability of a range of protected glucose- (Glc), galactose- (Gal), and fructose- (Fm) based tosylates and triflates to initiate the living cationic ring-opening polymerization of 2-ethy1-2-oxazoline (EtOx) was investigated by detailed kinetic studies utilizing (1)H and (19)F NMR spectroscopy and SEC as well as MALDI and ESI TOF mass spectrometry. The Glc and Gal tosylates and a sterically hindered Fm triflate revealed slow and incomplete initiation, whereas the Glc and Gal triflates resulted in living polymerizations. Well-defined Glc as well as Gal alpha-end-functionalized PEtOx was obtained after deprotection. Functionalization of the living oxazolinium chain ends with methacrylate anions resulted in a macromonomer that was applied for RAFT polymerization. Deprotection resulted in a comb polymer that is selectively functionalized with Glc at the ends of all side chains (DP(backbone) = 13, DP(side) (chains) = 10, PDI = 1.11)

Impact of PEG and PEG-b-PAGE modified PLGA on nanoparticle formation, protein loading and release.

The effect of modifying the well-established pharmaceutical polymer PLGA by different PEG-containing block-copolymers on the preparation of ovalbumin (OVA) loaded PLGA nanoparticles (NPs) was studied. The used polymers contained poly(d,l-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), polyethylene glycol (PEG) and poly(allyl glycidyl ether) (PAGE) as building blocks. The double emulsion technique yielded spherical NPs in the size range from 170 to 220nm (PDI<0.15) for all the differently modified polymers, allowing to directly compare protein loading of and release. PEGylation is usually believed to increase the hydrophilic character of produced particles, favoring encapsulation of hydrophilic substances. However, in this study simple PEGylation of PLGA had only a slight effect on protein release. In contrast, incorporating a PAGE block between the PEG and PLGA units, also eventually enabling active targeting introducing a reactive group, led to a significantly higher loading (+25%) and release rate (+100%), compared to PLGA and PEG-b-PLGA NPs

Analytical and synthesis details from Determination of ω-end functionalities in tailored poly(2-alkyl-2-oxazoline)s by liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry

The in-depth analytical characterization of polymers, in particular regarding intended biomedical applications, is becoming increasingly important to elucidate their structure–property relationships. Specifically, end group analysis of, e.g. polymers featuring a ‘stealth effect’ towards the immune system is of particular importance because of their use in coupling reactions to bioactive compounds. Herein, we established a liquid chromatography (LC) protocol to analyse bicyclo[6.1.0]nonyne-functionalised poly(2-alkyl-2–oxazoline)s (POx)s as promising functional polymers that can be applied in strain-promoted click reactions. This work involved the synthesis of poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline) (PMeOx) and poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PEtOx) by living cationic ring-opening polymerization (CROP) with different molar masses ranging from 2 up to 17.5 kDa and, to our knowledge, the first liquid chromatographic analysis of PMeOx. The developed analytical protocol enables the quantitative determination of post-polymerization reaction sequences with respect to the conversion of the ω-end groups. All synthesized polymers were straightforwardly analysed on a C18-derivatized silica monolithic column under reversed-phase chromatographic conditions with a binary mobile phase gradient comprising a mixture of acetonitrile and water. Subsequent mass spectrometry of collected elution fractions enabled the confirmation of the desired ω-end group functionalities and the identification of synthetic by-products

Rep protein accommodates together dsDNA and ssDNA which enables a loop-back mechanism to plasmid DNA replication initiation

17 p.-8 fig.-1 graph. abst.For DNA replication initiation in Bacteria, replication initiation proteins bind to double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) and interact with single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) at the replication origin. The structural–functional relationship of the nucleoprotein complex involving initiator proteins is still elusive and different models are proposed. In this work, based on crosslinking combined with mass spectrometry (MS), the analysis of mutant proteins and crystal structures, we defined amino acid residues essential for the interaction between plasmid Rep proteins, TrfA and RepE, and ssDNA. This interaction and Rep binding to dsDNA could not be provided in trans, and both are important for dsDNA melting at DNA unwinding element (DUE). We solved two crystal structures of RepE: one in a complex with ssDNA DUE, and another with both ssDNA DUE and dsDNA containing RepE-specific binding sites (iterons). The amino acid residues involved in interaction with ssDNA are located in the WH1 domain in stand β1, helices α1 and α2 and in the WH2 domain in loops preceding strands β1’ and β2’ and in these strands. It is on the opposite side compared to RepE dsDNA-recognition interface. Our data provide evidence for a loop-back mechanism through which the plasmid replication initiator molecule accommodates together dsDNA and ssDNA.Polish National Science Centre grant [2017/26/D/NZ1/00239]; E.Z. was supported by the MPD/2010/5 project operated within the Foundation for Polish Science International PhD Projects (MPD) Programme co-financed by the EU European Regional Development Fund; I.K. was supported by Foundation for Polish Science [TEAM, POIR.04.04.00-00-5C75/17-00]; R.G. is the recipient of a grant by Spanish MICIN/AEI [PID2021-124866OB-I00]. Funding for open access charge: University of Gdansk.Peer reviewe

Optimized Encapsulation of the FLAP/PGES-1 Inhibitor BRP-187 in PVA-Stabilized PLGA Nanoparticles Using Microfluidics

The dual inhibitor of the 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein (FLAP) and the microsomal prostaglandin E2 synthase-1 (mPGES-1), named BRP-187, represents a promising drug candidate due to its improved anti-inflammatory efficacy along with potentially reduced side effects in comparison to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). However, BRP-187 is an acidic lipophilic drug and reveals only poor water solubility along with a strong tendency for plasma protein binding. Therefore, encapsulation in polymeric nanoparticles is a promising approach to enable its therapeutic use. With the aim to optimize the encapsulation of BRP-187 into poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles, a single-phase herringbone microfluidic mixer was used for the particle preparation. Various formulation parameters, such as total flow rates, flow rate ratio, the concentration of the poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) as a surfactant, initial polymer concentration, as well as presence of a co-solvent on the final particle size distribution and drug loading, were screened for best particle characteristics and highest drug loading capacities. While the size of the particles remained in the targeted region between 121 and 259 nm with low polydispersities (0.05 to 0.2), large differences were found in the BRP-187 loading capacities (LC = 0.5 to 7.29%) and drug crystal formation during the various formulations

Effect of Crystallinity on the Properties of Polycaprolactone Nanoparticles Containing the Dual FLAP/mPEGS-1 Inhibitor BRP-187

Seven polycaprolactones (PCL) with constant hydrophobicity but a varying degree of crystallinity prepared from the constitutional isomers ε-caprolactone (εCL) and δ-caprolactone (δCL) were utilized to formulate nanoparticles (NPs). The aim was to investigate the effect of the crystallinity of the bulk polymers on the enzymatic degradation of the particles. Furthermore, their efficiency to encapsulate the hydrophobic anti-inflammatory drug BRP-187 and the final in vitro performance of the resulting NPs were evaluated. Initially, high-throughput nanoprecipitation was employed for the εCL and δCL homopolymers to screen and establish important formulation parameters (organic solvent, polymer and surfactant concentration). Next, BRP-187-loaded PCL nanoparticles were prepared by batch nanoprecipitation and characterized using dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscopy and UV-Vis spectroscopy to determine and to compare particle size, polydispersity, zeta potential, drug loading as well as the apparent enzymatic degradation as a function of the copolymer composition. Ultimately, NPs were examined for their potency in vitro in human polymorphonuclear leukocytes to inhibit the BRP-187 target 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein (FLAP). It was evident by Tukey’s multi-comparison test that the degree of crystallinity of copolymers directly influenced their apparent enzymatic degradation and consequently their efficiency to inhibit the drug target

PEG–Lipid–PLGA Hybrid Particles for Targeted Delivery of Anti-Inflammatory Drugs

Hybrid nanoparticles (HNPs) were designed by combining a PLGA core with a lipid shell that incorporated PEG–Lipid conjugates with various functionalities (-RGD, -cRGD, -NH2, and -COOH) to create targeted drug delivery systems. Loaded with a neutral lipid orange dye, the HNPs were extensively characterized using various techniques and investigated for their uptake in human monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) using FC and CLSM. Moreover, the best-performing HNPs (i.e., HNP-COOH and HNP-RGD as well as HNP-RGD/COOH mixed) were loaded with the anti-inflammatory drug BRP-201 and prepared in two size ranges (dH ~140 nm and dH ~250 nm). The HNPs were examined further for their stability, degradation, MDM uptake, and drug delivery efficiency by studying the inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) product formation, whereby HNP-COOH and HNP-RGD both exhibited superior uptake, and the HNP-COOH/RGD (2:1) displayed the highest inhibition

Small but Powerful: Co-Assembly of Polyether-Based Triblock Terpolymers into Sub-30 nm Micelles and Synergistic Effects on Cellular Interactions

We introduce a versatile ABC triblock terpoly- mer platform based on poly­(ethylene oxide)-<i>block</i>-poly­(allyl glycidyl ether)-<i>block</i>-poly­(<i>tert</i>-butyl glycidyl ether) (PEO-<i>b</i>-PAGE-<i>b</i>-P<i>t</i>BGE) and subsequent functionalization of the PAGE segment with thiogalactose (hydroxyl), cysteamine (amino), and 2-mercaptopropionic acid (carboxy) by thiol–ene chemistry. These materials are used to prepare core-shell-corona micelles with a P<i>t</i>BGE core, a PAGE shell, and a PEO corona and sizes below 30 nm in aqueous media. We investigate the influence of different functional groups on micelle formation and cellular uptake. Moreover, co-assembly of differently functionalized materials allows to create micelles with a mixed shell and adjustable charge and, in that way, important characteristics such as cell uptake or cytotoxicity can be controlled. Furthermore, we demonstrate that even the uptake mechanism depends on the substitution pattern of the underlying triblock terpolymer