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Metal–Organic‐Framework‐Templated Polyelectrolyte Nanocapsules for the Encapsulation and Delivery of Small‐Molecule–Polymer Conjugates
Author(s) -
Liu Shuo,
Chen Jianbin,
Bao Xiaojia,
Li Tao,
Ling Yunyang,
Li Chunxiang,
Wu Chuanliu,
Zhao Yibing
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
chemistry – an asian journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.18
H-Index - 106
eISSN - 1861-471X
pISSN - 1861-4728
DOI - 10.1002/asia.201600250
Subject(s) - nanocapsules , polyelectrolyte , polymer , nanotechnology , polyethylene glycol , materials science , template , conjugate , pegylation , peg ratio , small molecule , layer by layer , nanoparticle , chemical engineering , chemistry , organic chemistry , layer (electronics) , finance , engineering , biochemistry , mathematical analysis , mathematics , economics , composite material
Herein, we report a strategy for exploiting nanoscale metal–organic frameworks (nano‐MOFs) as templates for the layer‐by‐layer (LbL) assembly of polyelectrolytes. Because small‐molecule drugs or imaging agents cannot be efficiently encapsulated by polyelectrolyte nanocapsules, we investigated two promising and biocompatible polymers (comb‐shaped polyethylene glycol (PEG) and hyperbranched polyglycerol‐based PEG) for the conjugation of model drugs and imaging agents, which were then encapsulated inside the nano‐MOF‐templated nanocapsules. Furthermore, we also systemically explored the release kinetics of the encapsulated conjugates, and examined how the encapsulation and/or release processes could be controlled by varying the composition and architecture of the polymers. We envision that our nano‐MOFs‐templated nanocapsules, through combining with small‐molecule–polymer conjugates, will represent a new type of delivery system that could open up new opportunities for biomedical applications.