Accessibility navigation


Investigation of the thermogelation of a promising biocompatible ABC triblock terpolymer and its comparison with pluronic F127

Constantinou, A. P., Nele, V., Doutch, J. J., Correia, J. S., Moiseev, R. V., Cihova, M., Gaboriau, D. C. A., Krell, J., Khutoryanskiy, V. V. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7221-2630, Stevens, M. M. and Georgiou, T. K. (2022) Investigation of the thermogelation of a promising biocompatible ABC triblock terpolymer and its comparison with pluronic F127. Macromolecules, 55 (5). pp. 1783-1799. ISSN 0024-9297

[img]
Preview
Text (Open Access) - Published Version
· Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.
· Please see our End User Agreement before downloading.

5MB
[img] Text - Accepted Version
· Restricted to Repository staff only

3MB

It is advisable to refer to the publisher's version if you intend to cite from this work. See Guidance on citing.

To link to this item DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.1c02123

Abstract/Summary

Thermoresponsive polymers with the appropriate structure form physical networks upon changes in temperature, and they find utility in formulation science, tissue engineering, and drug delivery. Here, we report a cost-effective biocompatible alternative, namely OEGMA30015-b-BuMA26-b-DEGMA13, which forms gels at low concentrations (as low as 2% w/w); OEGMA300, BuMA, and DEGMA stand for oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (MM = 300 g mol–1), n-butyl methacrylate, and di(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate, respectively. This polymer is investigated in depth and is compared to its commercially available counterpart, Poloxamer P407 (Pluronic F127). To elucidate the differences in their macroscale gelling behavior, we investigate their nanoscale self-assembly by means of small-angle neutron scattering and simultaneously recording their rheological properties. Two different gelation mechanisms are revealed. The triblock copolymer inherently forms elongated micelles, whose length increases by temperature to form worm-like micelles, thus promoting gelation. In contrast, Pluronic F127’s micellization is temperature-driven, and its gelation is attributed to the close packing of the micelles. The gel structure is analyzed through cryogenic scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Ex vivo gelation study upon intracameral injections demonstrates excellent potential for its application to improve drug residence in the eye.

Item Type:Article
Refereed:Yes
Divisions:Interdisciplinary centres and themes > Chemical Analysis Facility (CAF) > Thermal (CAF)
Life Sciences > School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy > School of Pharmacy > Pharmaceutics Research Group
ID Code:103414
Publisher:American Chemical Society

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

University Staff: Request a correction | Centaur Editors: Update this record

Page navigation