Kamorin Denis, Simagin Alexander, Kazantsev Oleg, Savinova Maria, Simonova Maria, Sadkov Denis, Arifullin Ildar, Dolinov Yaroslav
Research Laboratory "New Polymeric Materials", Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University n.a. R.E. Alekseev, 24 Minin Street, 603950 Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.
Laboratory of Biomimetic Polymer Materials, Branch of Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute Named by B.P. Konstantinov of National Research Centre «Kurchatov Institute»-Institute of Macromolecular Compounds, Bolshoy Prospekt 31, 199004 Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Polymers (Basel). 2025 Apr 27;17(9):1200. doi: 10.3390/polym17091200.
Reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization was used to synthesize novel thermoresponsive cationic molecular brushes with high yields-namely of copolymers of methoxyoligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate, alkoxyoligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate, and N-methacryloylaminopropyl-N,N-dimethyl-N-propylammonium bromide. Controlled polymerization yielded polymers with a molecular weight dispersity of ≤1.3 and conversions exceeding 80%. The influence of the cationic molecular brushes' composition on their solubility in water and organic solvents, interfacial tension at the water-oil interface, and aggregation behavior in aqueous solutions was investigated. For the first time, we report the design of thermoresponsive cationic molecular brushes combining an antibacterial potential and tunable hydrophilic-hydrophobic properties, enabling highly precise control over their LCST behavior (17-68 °C) through composition tuning. The solubilization capacity of the hydrophobic compounds of brush micelles in water increased with the hydrophobic comonomer content. These polymers exhibited interfacial activity, significantly reducing the water-oil interfacial tension, with critical micelle concentrations (CMCs) of 3-10 mg/L. It was shown that the amphiphilic properties of the copolymers in aqueous solutions can be easily tuned in a desired direction by varying the content of the comonomer units. The obtained data indicate the potential of the polymers as micellar nanocarriers for controlled drug delivery.
可逆加成-断裂链转移（RAFT）聚合被用于高产率地合成新型热响应性阳离子分子刷，即甲基丙烯酸甲氧基低聚（乙二醇）酯、甲基丙烯酸烷氧基低聚（乙二醇）酯和N-甲基丙烯酰基氨基丙基-N，N-二甲基-N-丙基溴化铵的共聚物。可控聚合得到分子量分散度≤1.3且转化率超过80%的聚合物。研究了阳离子分子刷的组成对其在水和有机溶剂中的溶解度、水-油界面的界面张力以及在水溶液中的聚集行为的影响。我们首次报道了兼具抗菌潜力和可调节亲水-疏水性质的热响应性阳离子分子刷的设计，通过组成调节能够对其最低临界溶液温度（LCST）行为（17-68℃）进行高度精确的控制。刷状胶束中疏水化合物在水中的增溶能力随疏水共聚单体含量的增加而提高。这些聚合物表现出界面活性，显著降低了水-油界面张力，临界胶束浓度（CMC）为3-10mg/L。结果表明，通过改变共聚单体单元的含量，可以很容易地将共聚物在水溶液中的两亲性质调节到所需的方向。所获得的数据表明了这些聚合物作为用于可控药物递送的胶束纳米载体的潜力。
