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A Methyl Methacrylate– HEMA ‐ CL n Copolymerization Investigation: From Kinetics to Bioapplications
Author(s) -
Ferrari Raffaele,
Rooney Thomas R.,
Lupi Monica,
Ubezio Paolo,
Hutchinson Robin A.,
Moscatelli Davide
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
macromolecular bioscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.924
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1616-5195
pISSN - 1616-5187
DOI - 10.1002/mabi.201300152
Subject(s) - macromonomer , copolymer , polymer chemistry , methacrylate , methyl methacrylate , kinetics , chemistry , polymerization , radical polymerization , materials science , organic chemistry , polymer , physics , quantum mechanics
The radical copolymerization kinetics of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and poly‐ϵ‐caprolactone macromonomer functionalized with a vinyl end group (HEMA‐CL n ) is studied using a pulsed‐laser technique. The reactivity ratios for this system are near unity, while a linear relationship between k p , cop , the copolymer‐averaged propagation rate coefficient, and the composition of macromonomer in the feed (0–80 wt% range) is determined. At 50 wt% macromonomer in the feed, a 1.67 ± 0.02 and 1.64 ± 0.06 increase in k p,cop / k p,MMA is determined for HEMA‐CL 3 and HEMA‐CL 2 , respectively. These macromonomers are adopted to synthesize nanoparticles (NPs) in the range of 100–150 nm through batch emulsion free radical polymerization (BEP) to produce partially degradable drug delivery carriers. The produced NPs are tested in 4T1 cell line and show excellent characteristics as carriers: they do not affect cell proliferation, and a relevant number of NPs, thousands per cell, are internalized.