Manipulating Cellular Interactions of Poly(glycidyl methacrylate) Nanoparticles Using Mixed Polymer Brushes

Abstract

There is a growing need for the development of nanoparticles, with imaging and drug delivery capabilities, to maintain cellular uptake but avoid protein attachment and recognition. In this study we have demonstrated that nanoparticles consisting of a poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) core and a mixed brush architecture of methoxypoly(ethylene glycol) and poly(ethylenimine) (mPEG-PEI) on the surface can meet this need. Surface functionalization with PEI alone results in cellular uptake but rapid protein attachment and PEG alone can avoid protein attachment but to the detriment of cellular uptake. A mixed copolymer brush of both PEI and mPEG provides the ideal balance.

Superstructured Biomaterials Formed by Exchange Dynamics and Host–Guest Interactions in Supramolecular Polymers

“…A polyethylene glycol (PEG 10 ) spacer was chosen to link -cyclodextrin to PA molecules based on its hydrophilicity and molecular flexibility (Figure 1a). [8,[31][32][33] Since adamantane is much more hydrophobic, six glycine residues were used as a linker to minimize this moiety folding back and interacting with the hydrophobic core of PA nanofibers (Figure 1b). Both the cyclodextrin PA (CD PA) and adamantane PA (Ada PA) had the same chemical sequence conjugated to the linker and host or guest moieties, namely a 16-carbon alkyl tail followed by the peptide sequence V 2 A 2 E 4.…”