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A Novel Acid‐Degradable PEG Crosslinker for the Fabrication of pH‐Responsive Soft Materials
Author(s) -
Myrgorodska Iuliia,
JenkinsonFinch Mary,
MorenoTortolero Rafael O.,
Mann Stephen,
Gobbo Pierangelo
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
macromolecular rapid communications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.348
H-Index - 154
eISSN - 1521-3927
pISSN - 1022-1336
DOI - 10.1002/marc.202100102
Subject(s) - self healing hydrogels , polyethylene glycol , peg ratio , chemistry , polymer , fabrication , drug delivery , nucleophile , combinatorial chemistry , chemical engineering , polymer chemistry , organic chemistry , catalysis , medicine , alternative medicine , finance , pathology , engineering , economics
The design and synthesis of a novel acid‐degradable polyethylene glycol‐based N ‐hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) ester‐activated crosslinker is reported. The crosslinker is reactive towards nucleophiles and features a central ketal functional group that is stable at pH > 7.5 and rapidly hydrolyses at pH > 6.0. The crosslinker is used to (i) fabricate acid‐degradable polysaccharide hydrogels that exhibit controlled degradation upon exposure to an acidic environment or via endogenous enzyme activity; and (ii) construct hydrogel‐filled protein‐polymer microcompartments (termed proteinosomes ) capable of pH‐dependent membrane disassembly. Taken together the results provide new opportunities for the fabrication of pH‐responsive soft materials with potential applications in drug delivery, tissue engineering, and soft‐matter bioengineering.