title: Core crosslinking of biodegradable block copolymer micelles based on poly(ester carbonate).
abstract: A biodegradable amphiphilic block copolymer, PEG-b-P(LA-co-MAC), was used to prepare spherical micelles consisting of a hydrophobic P(LA-co-MAC) core and a hydrophilic PEG shell. To improve their stability, the micelles were crosslinked by radical polymerization of the double bonds in the hydrophobic blocks. The crosslinked micelles had similar sizes and a narrow size distribution compared to their uncrosslinked precursor. The improved stability of the crosslinked micelles was confirmed by measurements of the CMC and a thermodynamic investigation. These micelles can internalize into Hela cells in vitro as demonstrated by inverted fluorescence microscopy and CLSM. These stabilized nanoscale micelles have potential use in biomedical applications such as drug delivery and disease diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, China.
authors.forename: Xiuli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Xuesi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Jizheng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Shi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xiabin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jing
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D002254:Carbonates / Q000737:chemistry*; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents / Q000737:chemistry; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing; D008823:Micelles; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010316:Particle Size; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002254:Carbonates; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D008823:Micelles; D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers