Synthesis and characterization of controlled drug release carriers based on functionalized amphiphilic block copolymers and super‐paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles

Abstract

In this study, synthesis and characterization of magnetic nanocarriers are reported for drug delivery based on the amphiphilic di-block and tri-block copolymers of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) with surface modified super-paramagnetite Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles (magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs)). The synthesized block copolymers (methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) (mPEG)-PCL and PCL-PEG-PCL) were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and their properties such as critical micelle concentration, hydrophilicity to lipophilicity balance, and hydrolytic degradation were investigated. The block copolymers were functionalized with terminal azide groups (mPEG-PCL(N 3 ) and (N 3 )PCL-PEG-PCL(N 3 )), and magnetic Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles were surface modified with poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and propargyl alcohol (MNP-PAA-C≡CH). Magnetic nanocarriers were synthesized by click reaction between azide-terminated block copolymers and MNP-PAA-C≡CH and characterized by FT-IR, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), dynamic light scattering (DLS), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and cytotoxicity was investigated by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay. In vitro drug loading and release and release kinetics were investigated.

Self‐aggregated nanoparticles of N‐dodecyl,N′‐glycidyl(chitosan) as pH‐responsive drug delivery systems for quercetin

“…The mathematical Korsmeyer–Peppas model was used to evaluate the release of QCT. This model has been widely used to characterize drug release mechanisms from spherical nanoparticles . The fitting data (Table ) revealed strong dependence on the pH, suggesting that there is a change in the outer layer of the nanoparticles as function of pH.…”

Clinoptilolite/PCL–PEG–PCL composite scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications

“…Differential thermogravimetric curve of triblock copolymer showed two weight loss steps due to decomposition of PCL and PEG segments in copolymer (data not shown), which confirms the block copolymer structure. 55 According to the comparison of the T d values of copolymer and homopolymers, thermal stability of PCEC copolymer was higher than that of pure PCL and PEG homopolymers. In a similar study, Wang et al 56 studied PCEC block copolymer and found that increase in T d of the blends was associated with increment in thermal stability.…”

Clustering of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles with Amphiphilic Invertible Polymer Enhances Uptake and Release of Drugs and MRI Properties

“…Their hydrophobic fragments are intended to interact with hydrophobic NPs, while hydrophilic constituents allow for water dispersibility and biocompatibility. Amphiphilic copolymers have been actively utilized for iron oxide NP functionalization, in particular, to develop drug delivery vehicles …”

“…Amphiphilic copolymers have been actively utilized for iron oxide NP functionalization, in particular, to develop drug delivery vehicles. [41][42][43][44][45][46] In our preceding work, we studied functionalization of iron oxide NPs synthesized by thermal decomposition of iron oleate, [40] with an alternating copolymer, poly(maleic acid-alt-1-octadecene) (PMAcOD) modified with grafted poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) tails of different lengths. [47,48] Upon functionalization, oleic acid tails and octadecene units of the copolymer create a hydrophobic bilayer, the properties of which depend on the degree of PEG grafting and the NP size.…”