Hydrophilic ‘shell

In the same year, Fulda and Tieke [75] reported on Langmuir films of monodisperse, 0.5-pm spherical polymer particles with hydrophobic polystyrene cores and hydrophilic shells containing polyacrylic acid or polyacrylamide. Measurement of ir-A curves and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to determine the structure of the monolayers. In subsequent work, Fulda et al. [76] studied a variety of particles with different hydrophilic shells for their ability to form Langmuir films. Fulda and Tieke [77] investigated the influence of subphase conditions (pH, ionic strength) on monolayer formation of cationic and anionic particles as well as the structure of films made from bidisperse mixtures of anionic latex particles. 

Fig. 30 Types of nanocarriers for drug delivery, (a) Polymeric nanoparticles polymeric nanoparticles in which drugs are conjugated to or encapsulated in polymers, (b) Polymeric micelles amphiphilic block copolymers that form nanosized core-shell structures in aqueous solution. The hydrophobic core region serves as a reservoir for hydrophobic drugs, whereas hydrophilic shell region stabilizes the hydrophobic core and renders the polymer water-soluble.

Nonetheless, one cannot exclude the probability of a successful combination of these prerequisites (as was the case with poly[(NiPAAm-co-GMA)-g-PEO considered above]) that will allow us to obtain, using the chemical colouring approach, the protein-like HP-copolymers with a dense hydrophobic core wrapped by the hydrophilic shell. Such a shell should be capable of efficiently protecting the temperature-responsive macromolecules against pronounced interchain hydrophobic interactions and precipitation at temperatures significantly higher than those at which the copolymers of the same total monomer composition—but with a non-protein-like primary sequence of comonomer units—are in the soluble state. 

Corresponding approaches were developed in all the research methods theoretical, computer simulation, and, moreover, experimental. Thus, copolymers were synthesized in vitro, which form non-aggregating structures of the type hydrophobic core-hydrophilic shell. The structure of such copolymers is similar in this respect to that of protein macromolecules [125-127]. 

Multihydroxyl containing monomeric or oligomeric p-cyclodextrins (PCD) such as those attained by grafting with glycidyl ethers of protected polyols (glycerol and pentitols) appeared rather promising components for their amphiphilic character, connected to the presence of an hydrophobic pocket and an external hydrophilic shell with an amplified number of hydroxyl groups. 

More recently, micelles have also been proposed as contrast agents. They are colloidal particles with a hydrophobic core and a hydrophilic shell, formed by amphiphilic compounds 102). 

Micelles are colloidal dispersions that form spontaneously, under certain concentrations, from amphiphilic or surface-active agents (surfactants), molecules of which consist of two distinct regions with opposite afL nities toward a given solvent such as water (Torchilin, 2007). Micelles form when the concentration of these amphiphiles is above the critical micelle concentration (CMC). They consist of an inner core of assembled hydrophobic segments and an outer hydrophilic shell serving as a stabilizing interface between the hydrophobic core and the external aqueous environment. Micelles solubilize molecules of poorly soluble nonpolar pharmaceuticals within the micelle core, while polar molecules could be adsorbed on the micelle surface, and substances with intermediate polarity distributed along surfactant molecules in intermediate positions. 

As with normal hydrocarbon-based surfactants, polymeric micelles have a core-shell structure in aqueous systems (Jones and Leroux, 1999). The shell is responsible for micelle stabilization and interactions with plasma proteins and cell membranes. It usually consists of chains of hydrophilic nonbiodegradable, biocompatible polymers such as PEO. The biodistribution of the carrier is mainly dictated by the nature of the hydrophilic shell (Yokoyama, 1998). PEO forms a dense brush around the micelle core preventing interaction between the micelle and proteins, for example, opsonins, which promote rapid circulatory clearance by the mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS) (Papisov, 1995). Other polymers such as pdty(sopropylacrylamide) (PNIPA) (Cammas etal., 1997 Chung etal., 1999) and poly(alkylacrylicacid) (Chen etal., 1995 Kwon and Kataoka, 1995 Kohorietal., 1998) can impart additional temperature or pH-sensitivity to the micelles, and may eventually be used to confer bioadhesive properties (Inoue et al., 1998). 

In terms of biodistribution, Zhang et al. (1997) were not able to demonstrate any difference between the biodistribution of paclitaxel loaded into MePEGQLLA micelles versus paclitaxel solubilized in Cremophor EL (a conventional surfactant). These two formulations also showed similar in vitro distribution between the lipoprotein and lipoprotein-deLcient fraction of plasma (Ramaswamy et al., 1997). As for other drug carriers, plasma half-life and uptake of polymeric micelles by the MPS depend on the molecular weight (Kwon et al., 1994) and density of the hydrophilic shell (Hagan et al., 1996). 

Amphiphilic molecules (surfactants) can assemble into nanoscopic supramolecular structures with a hydrophobic core and a hydrophilic shell micellar arrangement. As surfactant concentration is increased in aqueous solutions, the separated molecules aggregate into micelles upon reaching a concentration interval known as the critical micellar concentration (CMC). 

Newkome et al. were the first to synthesise symmetrical, quater-directionaF cascade molecules with a carbon scaffold bearing 36 terminal carboxyl groups -all at an equal distance from the neopentyl core (Fig. 6.20a). The carboxyls were converted into the corresponding ammonium and tetramethylammonium car-boxylates. Synthesis of these dendritic unimolecular micelles with hydrophobic core and hydrophilic shell was accomplished up to the fourth generation by coupling of a dendritic hypercore (constructed from 4,4-bis(4 -hydroxyphenyl)-pentanol monomer) and PEG mesylate (PEG = polyethylene glycol). Dyes such... 

To give a visual impression of the simulated system, Fig. 7 presents a typical snapshot of an amphiphilic copolymer having a 256-unit hydrophilic backbone with 64 attached hydrophobic side groups. Already from this picture, it is seen that, using the synthetic strategy described above, one can indeed end up with a copolymer having a dense hydrophobic core surrounded by a hydrophilic shell. 

Let us compare the kinetics of the selective-solvent-induced collapse of protein-like copolymers with the collapse of random and random-block copolymers [18]. Several kinetic criteria were examined using Langevin molecular dynamics simulations. There are some general results, which seem to be independent of the nature of interactions or the kinetic criteria monitored during the collapse. Here, we restrict our analysis to the evolution of the characteristic ratio f = (Rgp/Rg ) that combines the partial mean-square radii of gyration calculated separately for hydrophobic and hydrophilic beads, k2n and Rg . This ratio takes into account both the properties of compactness and solubility for a heteropolymer globule [70] (compactness is directly related to the mean size of the hydrophobic core, whereas solubility should be dependent on the size of the hydrophilic shell). 

Some attention should be also paid to the fact that some copolymers with special sequence distribution do not assume cylindrical shape within the HA model. For example, this is the case for protein-like sequences. Protein-like sequences correspond to a copolymer which forms globules with a hydrophobic core and a hydrophilic shell showing no tendency to aggregation. Proteinlike copolymers have been previously studied within the HP model [32-34], Application of the more realistic HA model showed that the globules formed by protein-like copolymers under worsening solvent quality assume conventional spherical shape and show no tendency to aggregate [23]. The stability for HA model protein-like copolymers is much higher than for those within the HP model. 

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