title: Poly(ethylene glycol)-graft-poly(vinyl acetate) single-chain nanoparticles for the encapsulation of small molecules.
abstract: Amphiphilic poly(ethylene glycol)-graft-poly(vinyl acetate) copolymers with a low degree of grafting undergo self-folding in water driven by hydrophobic interactions, resulting in single-chain nanoparticles (SCNPs) possessing a hydrodynamic radius of about 10 nm. A temperature scan revealed a lower critical solution temperature (LCST)-type phase behavior. In addition, SAXS data collected close to the LCST showed that these SCNPs aggregate into one-dimensional elongated objects, preferentially. With respect to the typical linear complex-structured polymer chains, this material is ideally suited for industrial and/or biomedical applications because of its simple molecular architecture and persistence of SCNPs up to 100 mg mL-1. The so-obtained single-chain globular particles are able to swell upon loading with small hydrophobic molecules therefore promoting solubilization of flavors or drugs, which could be of interest in the food and pharmaceutical industry.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff" and CSGI, University of Florence, via della Lastruccia 3, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Florence, Italy. piero.baglioni@unifi.it.
authors.forename: Arianna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bartolini
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff" and CSGI, University of Florence, via della Lastruccia 3, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Florence, Italy. piero.baglioni@unifi.it.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6129-2997
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tempesti
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff" and CSGI, University of Florence, via della Lastruccia 3, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Florence, Italy. piero.baglioni@unifi.it.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Resta
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff" and CSGI, University of Florence, via della Lastruccia 3, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Florence, Italy. piero.baglioni@unifi.it.
authors.forename: Debora
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Berti
authors.affiliation: The Procter & Gamble Company, Temselaan 100, 1853 Strombeek Bever, Belgium.
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Smets
authors.affiliation: The Procter & Gamble Company, Winton Hill Technical Center 6100 Center Hill, Cincinnati, OH 45224, USA.
authors.forename: Yousef G
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Aouad
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry "Ugo Schiff" and CSGI, University of Florence, via della Lastruccia 3, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Florence, Italy. piero.baglioni@unifi.it.
authors.forename: Piero
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1312-8700
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Baglioni
mesh_terms: D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry*; D008956:Models, Chemical; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry*; D013696:Temperature; D014753:Vinyl Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D004337:Drug Carriers; D014753:Vinyl Compounds; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; C011566:vinyl acetate