Thermo- and pH-Responsive, Coacervate-Forming Hyperbranched Poly(β-amino ester)s for Selective Cell Binding.
We report a new type of thermo- and pH-responsive, coacervate-forming highly degradable polymer-hyperbranched poly(β-amino esters) (HPAEs) and its selective cell binding behaviors. The HPAEs were synthesized from 5-amino-1-pentanol (S5) and trimethylolpropane ethoxylate triacrylate (TMPETA) via an A2+B3 type Michael addition. The existence of multiple hydrogen bond pairs as well as tertiary amines makes the S5-TMPETA polymers manifest temperature- and pH-dependent phase transition. By varying the length of the ethylene glycol (EG) spacers in the TMPETA, polymer molecular weight, concentration, and pH value, the phase transition of the S5-TMPETA can be easily tuned in aqueous and buffer solutions, as evidenced by UV-vis spectroscopy and DLS measurements. Especially, the S5-TMPETA prepared from S5 and trimethylolpropane ethoxylate triacrylate 692 (S5-TMPETA692) shows a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) around 33 °C, above which the S5-TMPTEA can form coacervate particles able to encapsulate functional molecules effectively. Importantly, when incubation with HeLa cells, the S5-TMPTETA692 exhibits a temperature- and pH-responsive selective cell binding behaviors. In addition, the S5-TMPETA are highly hydrolyzable and elicit negligible cytotoxicity. This new type of "smart" polymer should find use in a variety of biomedical applications.
Charles Institute of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University College Dublin , Dublin 4, Ireland.
Dezhong
D
Zhou
Charles Institute of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University College Dublin , Dublin 4, Ireland.
Luca
L
Pierucci
Charles Institute of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University College Dublin , Dublin 4, Ireland.
Yongsheng
Y
Gao
Charles Institute of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University College Dublin , Dublin 4, Ireland.
Jonathan
J
O'Keeffe Ahern
Charles Institute of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University College Dublin , Dublin 4, Ireland.|School of Materials Science and Engineering, Sichuan University , Chengdu 610064, China.
Xiaobei
X
Huang
Charles Institute of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University College Dublin , Dublin 4, Ireland.
A
A
Sigen
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University , Tianjin 300072, China.|Charles Institute of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University College Dublin , Dublin 4, Ireland.
Wenxin
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5053-0611
W
Wang
D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D044367:Phase Transition; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D013696:Temperature
D011108:Polymers; C507253:poly(beta-amino ester)
coacervate-forming; hyperbranched polymers; pH sensitivity; selective cell binding; thermo-sensitivity