Rapid photo-crosslinking of fumaric acid monoethyl ester-functionalized poly(trimethylene carbonate) oligomers for drug delivery applications.

Photo-crosslinkable, fumaric acid monoethyl ester-functionalized poly(trimethylene carbonate) oligomers were synthesized and copolymerized with N-vinyl pyrrolidone (NVP) and vinyl acetate (VAc) to form biodegradable polymer networks. The copolymerization reactions were much faster than homopolymerization of the fumarate end-groups of the macromers. The hydrophilicity of the networks could by varied by mixing NVP and VAc at different ratios.

Atrium-targeted drug delivery through an amiodarone-eluting bilayered patch.

Objective: Clinical studies have demonstrated the efficacy of oral and intravenous amiodarone therapy to prevent postoperative atrial fibrillation. However, because of significant extracardiac side effects, only high-risk patients are eligible for prophylactic amiodarone therapy. This study addressed the hypothesis that atrium-specific drug delivery through an amiodarone-eluting epicardial patch reduces vulnerability to atrial tachyarrhythmias, whereas ventricular and plasma drug concentrations are minimized.

Aggregation behavior of giant amphiphiles prepared by cofactor reconstitution.

We report on biohybrid surfactants, termed "giant amphiphiles", in which a protein or an enzyme acts as the polar head group and a synthetic polymer as the apolar tail. It is demonstrated that the modification of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and myoglobin (Mb) with an apolar polymer chain through the cofactor reconstitution method yields giant amphiphiles that form spherical aggregates (vesicles) in aqueous solution. Both HRP and Mb retain their original functionality when modified with a single polystyrene chain, but reconstitution has an effect on their activities.

Glucose-oxidase based self-destructing polymeric vesicles.

We have designed oxidation-responsive vesicles from synthetic amphiphilic block copolymers ("polymersomes") of ethylene glycol and propylene sulfide. Thioethers in the hydrophobic poly(propylene sulfide) block are converted into the more hydrophilic sulfoxides and sulfones upon exposure to an oxidative environment, changing the hydrophilic-lipophilic balance of the macroamphiphile and thus inducing its solubilization. Here we sought to explore generation of the oxidative environment and induction of polymersome destabilization through production of hydrogen peroxide by the glucose-oxidase (GOx)/glucose/oxygen system.

Plastic- and liquid-crystalline architectures from dendritic receptor molecules.

Host molecules with U-shaped receptor cavities have been derivatized at their convex side with two n-hydrocarbon tails (1), two first-generation (2), and two second-generation (3) monodendritic hydrocarbon tails. Although hosts 1 and 2 display plastic-crystalline behavior, evidence suggests that host 3 forms a cubic liquid-crystalline phase. In this phase, molecules of 3 are arranged in spherical supramacromolecular assemblies, in which the receptor cavities are situated in the core and the hydrocarbon tails at the periphery.