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Intracellularly Degradable Hydrogen‐Bonded Polymer Capsules
Author(s) -
Kempe Kristian,
Ng Sher Leen,
Gunawan Sylvia T.,
Noi Ka Fung,
Caruso Frank
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201401397
Subject(s) - materials science , methacrylate , polymer chemistry , methacrylic acid , atom transfer radical polymerization , polymer , glycidyl methacrylate , quartz crystal microbalance , ethylene glycol , oxazoline , chemical engineering , polymerization , organic chemistry , chemistry , composite material , engineering , catalysis , adsorption
The assembly of low‐fouling polymer capsules with redox‐responsive behavior and intracellular degradability is reported. Thiol‐containing poly(2‐ethyl‐2‐oxazoline) (PEtOxMA SH ) brushes are synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of oligo(2‐ethyl‐2‐oxazoline)methacrylate and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) and subsequent ring‐opening reaction of the GMA. Sequential deposition of PEtOxMA SH /poly(methacrylic acid) (PMA) multilayers onto silica (SiO 2 ) particle templates and crosslinking through disulfide formation yield stable capsules after the removal of the SiO 2 templates by buffered hydrofluoric acid (HF). The redox‐responsive nature of the disulfide crosslinking groups enables the degradation of these capsules under simulated intracellular conditions at pH 5.9 and 5 m m glutathione (GSH). Furthermore, capsule degradation is observed after incubation with dendritic (JAWS II) cells. Even at high capsule‐to‐cell ratios, PEtOxMA SH capsules show only negligible cytotoxicity. Quartz crystal microgravimetry (QCM) studies, using 100% human serum, reveal that films prepared from PEtOxMA SH exhibit low‐fouling properties. The degradation and low‐fouling properties are promising for application of PEtOxMA SH films/capsules for the delivery and triggered release of therapeutics.