Homopolymer and ABC Triblock Copolymer Mixtures for Thermoresponsive Gel Formulations

Abstract

Our group has recently invented a novel series of thermoresponsive ABC triblock terpolymers based on oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate with average Mn 300 g mol‒1 (OEGMA300, A unit), n-butyl methacrylate (BuMA, B unit) and di(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (DEGMA, C unit) with excellent thermogelling properties. In this study, we investigate how the addition of OEGMA300x homopolymers of varying molar mass (MM) affects the gelation characteristics of the best performing ABC triblock terpolymer. Interestingly, the gelation is not disrupted by the addition of the homopolymers, with the gelation temperature (Tgel) remaining stable at around 30 °C, depending on the MM and content in OEGMA300x homopolymer. Moreover, stronger gels are formed when higher MM OEGMA300x homopolymers are added, presumably due to the homopolymer chains acting as bridges between the micelles formed by the triblock terpolymer, thus, favouring gelation. In summary, novel formulations based on mixtures of triblock copolymer and homopolymers are presented, which can provide a cost-effective alternative for use in biomedical applications, compared to the use of the triblock copolymer only.

Next generation strategy for tuning the thermoresponsive properties of micellar and hydrogel drug delivery vehicles using ionic liquids

“…1). 12,13 The polymer structure consists of one hydrophobic central block, BuMA, and two hydrophilic outer blocks, OEGMA300 and DEGMA. The DEGMA units exhibit thermoresponsive behaviour at approximately 30 °C, expressed as CP.…”

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“…55,56 Dispersity ( Đ ) (molar mass distribution) values vary between 1.10 and 1.20, and agree with previously reported values for copolymers synthesised through GTP and using OEGMA monomers. 57–60…”

“…55,56 Dispersity (Đ) (molar mass distribution) values vary between 1.10 and 1.20, and agree with previously reported values for copolymers synthesised through GTP and using OEGMA monomers. [57][58][59][60] . The GPC profile (Figure 2) confirms the successful synthesis of polymer 1 (AB), OEGMA300 16 -b-DMAEMA 32 , and its precursor, with minimal deactivation.…”