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Ultrasonication Assisted Layer-By-Layer Technology For The Preparation Of Multi-Functional Anticancer Drugs Paclitaxel And Lapatinib, Xingcai Zhang

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, ultrasonication assisted Layer-by-Layer (LbL) technology for the preparation of multifunctional poorly water-soluble anticancer drug nanoparticles, paclitaxel and lapatinib, has been developed. Many FDA approved drugs are very low soluble in water; therefore, it is very difficult to load and control their release and targeting efficiently, which greatly confines their application. The development of this method will pave the way for the development and application of those low soluble anticancer drugs.

In the first part of this dissertation, the first approach for powerful ultrasonication, the top-down approach (sonicating bulk drug crystals in polyelectrolyte solution), was successfully applied for …

Synthesis Of Ph-Responsive Multilayer Hydrogels And Amphiphilic Block Copolymers, Yun Wang

All ETDs from UAB

The research presented in this thesis is focused at the design and fabrication of pH-responsive layer-by-layer (LbL) hydrogels and the synthesis of the ABA block copolymer poly(2-methyloxazoline)-block-poly(dimethylsiloxane)-block-poly(2-methyl-oxazoline) (PMOXA-b-PDMS-b-PMOXA). Ultrathin stimuli-responsive layer-by-layer hydrogels, as compared to bulk hydrogels, can respond to external stimuli in a short time range (usually within seconds) which renders them particularly useful in sensing. Moreover, layer-by-layer technique allows the hydrogel film to be deposited with controlled thickness growth. However, the fabrication of LbL hydrogels with controllable cross-linking density and swelling degree still remains challenging. In chapter two, novel pH-sensitive LbL hydrogels based on poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (P4VP) were …