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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

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Polymer Chemistry

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Western University

Chemistry Publications

2017

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Poly(Ethyl Glyoxylate)-Poly(Ethylene Oxide) Nanoparticles: Stimuli- Responsive Drug Release Via End-To-End Polyglyoxylate Depolymerization, Bo Fan, Elizabeth Gillies Mar 2017

Poly(Ethyl Glyoxylate)-Poly(Ethylene Oxide) Nanoparticles: Stimuli- Responsive Drug Release Via End-To-End Polyglyoxylate Depolymerization, Bo Fan, Elizabeth Gillies

Chemistry Publications

The ability to disrupt polymer assemblies in response to specifi c stimuli provides the potential to release drugs selectively at certain sites or conditions in vivo. However, most stimuli-responsive delivery systems require many stimuli initiated events to release drugs. Self-immolative polymers offer the potential to provide amplifi ed responses to stimuli as they undergo complete end-to-end depolymerization following the cleavage of a single end-cap. Herein, linker end-caps were developed to conjugate self-immolative poly(ethyl glyoxylate) (PEtG) with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) to form amphiphilic block copolymers. These copolymers were self-assembled to form nanoparticles in aqueous solution. Cleavage of the linker …


Phosphonium-Functionalized Polymer Micelles With Intrinsic Antibacterial Activity, Benjamin Hisey, Paul J. Ragogna, Elizabeth Gillies Feb 2017

Phosphonium-Functionalized Polymer Micelles With Intrinsic Antibacterial Activity, Benjamin Hisey, Paul J. Ragogna, Elizabeth Gillies

Chemistry Publications

New approaches to treat bacterial infections are badly needed to address the increasing problem of antibiotic resistance. This study explores phosphonium-functionalized block copolymer micelles as intrinsically antibacterial polymer assemblies. Phosphonium cations with varying alkyl lengths were conjugated to the terminus of a poly(ethylene oxide)− polycaprolactone block copolymer, and the phosphonium-functionalized block copolymers were self-assembled to form micelles in aqueous solution. The size, morphology, and ζ -potential of the assemblies were studied, and their abilities to kill Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were evaluated. It was found that the minimum bactericidal concentration depended on the phosphonium alkyl chain length, and different …