title: Polycationic block copolymers of poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(propylene oxide) for cell transfection.
abstract: A facile, one-step synthesis of cationic block copolymers of poly(2-N-(dimethylaminoethyl) methacrylate) (pDMAEMA) and copolymers of poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) has been developed. The PEO-PPO-PEO-pDMAEMA (L92-pDMAEMA) and PEO-pDMAEMA copolymers were obtained via free radical polymerization of DMAEMA initiated by polyether radicals generated by cerium(IV). Over 95% of the copolymer fraction was of molecular mass ranging from 6.9 to 7.1 kDa in size, indicating the prevalence of the polyether-monoradical initiation mechanism. The L92-pDMAEMA copolymers possess parent surfactant-like surface activity. In contrast, the PEO-pDMAEMA copolymers lack significant surface activity. Both copolymers can complex with DNA. Hydrodynamic radii of the complexes of the L92-pDMAEMA and PEO-pDMAEMA with plasmid DNA ranged in size from 60 to 400 nm, depending on the copolymer/DNA ratio. Addition of Pluronic P123 to the L92-pDMAEMA complexes with DNA masked charges and decreased the tendency of the complex to aggregate, even at stoichiometric polycation/DNA ratios. The transfection efficiency of the L92-pDMAEMA copolymer was by far greater than that of the PEO-pDMAEMA copolymer. An extra added Pluronic P123 further increased the transfecton efficacy of L92-pDMAEMA, but did not affect that of PEO-pDMAEMA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Lev
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bromberg
authors.forename: Smeet
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Deshmukh
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Temchenko
authors.forename: Ludmila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Iourtchenko
authors.forename: Valery
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Alakhov
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Alvarez-Lorenzo
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barreiro-Iglesias
authors.forename: Angel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Concheiro
authors.forename: T Alan
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Hatton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016466:CHO Cells; D002412:Cations / Q000737:chemistry; D006224:Cricetinae; D004852:Epoxy Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D005027:Ethylene Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D015394:Molecular Structure; D011108:Polymers / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D014162:Transfection / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D002412:Cations; D004852:Epoxy Compounds; D011108:Polymers; D005027:Ethylene Oxide; C009068:propylene oxide