An approach for reducing toxicity and enhancing therapeutic potential of supramolecular polyamine phosphate nanoparticles (PANs) through PEGylation of polyamines before their assembly into nanoparticles is presented here. It is shown that the number of polyethylene glycol (PEG) chains for polyamine largely influence physico‐chemical properties of PANs and their biological endpoints. Poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) are functionalized through carbodiimide chemistry with three ratios of PEG molecules per PAH chain: 0.1, 1, and 10. PEGylated PAH is then assembled into PANs by exposing the polymer to phosphate buffer solution. PANs decrease size and surface charge with increasing PEG ratios as evidenced by dynamic light scattering and zeta potential measurements, with the ten PEG/PAH ratio PANs having practically zero charge. Small angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) proves that PEG chains form a shell around a polyamine core, which is responsible for the screening of positive charges. MTT experiments show that the screening of amine groups decreases nanoparticle toxicity, with the lowest toxicity for the 10 PEG/PAH ratio. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) proves less interaction with proteins for PEGylated PANs. Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of 18F labelled PANs shows longer circulation time in healthy mice for PEGylated PANs than non‐PEGylated ones.

Mechanochemistry is an emerging and reliable alternative to conventional solution (batch) synthesis of complex molecules under green and solvent-free conditions. In this regard, we report here on the conjugation of a dextran polysaccharide with a fluorescent probe, a phenylboronic acid (PBA)-functionalized boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) applying the ball milling approach. The ball milling formation of boron esters between PBA BODIPY and dextran proved to be more efficient in terms of reaction time, amount of reactants, and labelling degree compared to the corresponding solution-based synthetic route. PBA-BODIPY dextran assembles into nanoparticles of around 200 nm by hydrophobic interactions. The resulting PBA-BODIPY dextran nanoparticles retain an apolar interior as proved by pyrene fluorescence, suitable for the encapsulation of hydrophobic drugs with high biocompatibility while remaining fluorescent.

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