Polymer micelles offer the possibility to create a nanoscopic environment that is distinct from the bulk phase. They find applications in catalysis, drug delivery, cleaning, etc. Often, one simply distinguishes between hydrophilic and hydrophobic, but fine-tuning of the microenvironment is possible by adjusting the structure of the polymer amphiphile. Here, we investigated a small library of structurally similar amphiphiles based on poly(2-oxazoline)s and poly(2-oxazine)s with respect to their solubilization capacity for two extremely water insoluble drugs, curcumin and paclitaxel. We found very significant and orthogonal specificities even if only one methylene group is exchanged between the polymer backbone and side chain. More strikingly, we observed profound synergistic and antagonistic solubilization patterns for the coformulation of the two drugs. Our findings shed new light on host-guest interaction in polymer micelles and such pronounced host-guest specificities in polymer micelles may not only be interesting in drug delivery but also for applications such as micellar catalysis.

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Biocompatible polymers that form thermoreversible supramolecular hydrogels have gained great interest in biomaterials research and tissue engineering. When favorable rheological properties are achieved at the same time, they are particularly promising candidates as material that allow for the printing of cells, so-called bioinks. We synthesized a novel thermogelling block copolymer and investigated the rheological properties of its aqueous solution by viscosimetry and rheology. The polymers undergo thermogelation between room temperature and body temperature, form transparent hydrogels of surprisingly high strength (G' > 1000 Pa) and show rapid and complete shear recovery after stress. Small angle neutron scattering suggests an unusual bicontinuous sponge-like gel network. Excellent cytocompatibility was demonstrated with NIH 3T3 fibroblasts, which were incorporated and bioplotted into predefined 3D hydrogel structures without significant loss of viability. The developed materials fulfill all criteria for future use as bioink for biofabrication.