Single-chain polymer nanoparticles in controlled drug delivery and targeted imaging

Abstract

As a relatively new class of materials, single-chain polymer nanoparticles (SCNPs) just entered the field of (biomedical) applications, with recent advances in polymer science enabling the formation of bio-inspired nanosized architectures. Exclusive intramolecular collapse of individual polymer chains results in individual nanoparticles. With sizes an order of magnitude smaller than conventional polymer nanoparticles, SCNPs are in the size regime of many proteins and viruses (1-20 nm). Multifaceted syntheses and design strategies give access to a wide set of highly modular SCNP materials. This review describes how SCNPs have been rendered water-soluble and highlights ongoing research efforts towards biocompatible SCNPs with tunable properties for controlled drug delivery, targeted imaging and protein mimicry.

Nucleic acids presenting polymer nanomaterials as vaccine adjuvants

“…127 For SCNPs with water-soluble backbones, several strategies for covalently crosslinking them directly in water have been developed, ranging from covalent reactions to supramolecular host-guest recognition. 128 As additional advantage, all water-compatible intramolecular crosslinking techniques take place in mild reaction conditions.…”

Improvements in chemical carriers of proteins and peptides

“…Moreover, dendrimers are repetitively branched molecules which are typically symmetric around the core and often adopt a spherical three-dimensional morphology (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendrimer). Singlechain polymer nanoparticles (SCNPs) were also generated by intramolecular collapse of individual polymer chains and showed a smaller size than conventional polymer nanoparticles (1-20 nm), similar to many proteins and viruses (Kr€ oger and Paulusse, 2018). Other group of nanocarriers known as nanoparticles includes self-assemblies of smaller molecules which are aggregated through intermolecular forces.…”

Preparation of Single Chain Nanoparticles via Photoinduced Double Collapse Process

“…To gain single chain nanoparticles, varying synthetic methods have been carried out such as Menschutkin quaternization chemistry, stepwise folding, Diels–Alder click, benzocyclobutene‐coupling chemistry, click cyclo‐addition, photocrosslinking, and host–guest interactions . These intramolecularly crosslinked nanoparticles have found various applications in gas capturing, controlled release, and nanocomposites …”

“…To gain single chain nanoparticles, varying synthetic methods have been carried out such as Menschutkin quaternization chemistry, [5,13,14] stepwise folding, [15] Diels-Alder click, [16,17] benzocyclobutene-coupling chemistry, [18] click cyclo-addition, [19][20][21] photocrosslinking, [22][23][24][25] and host-guest interactions. [26] These intramolecularly crosslinked nanoparticles have found various applications in gas capturing, [27] controlled release, [28] and nanocomposites. [4] The photochemical process is one of the most utilized techniques to obtain versatile products and it has also great importance for green chemistry applications.…”