Micelles macromolecular

Numerous experimental therapeutics have shown potency in vitro however, when they are tested in vivo, they often lack significant efficacy. This is often attributed to unfavorable pharmacokinetic properties and systemic toxicity, which limit the maximum tolerated dose. These limitations can be overcome by use of drug carriers. Two general types of carrier systems have been designed drug conjugation to macromolecular carriers, such as polymers and proteins and drug encapsulation in nanocarriers, such as liposomes, polymersomes and micelles. 

Nanogels made up of various intramolecularly cross-linked macromolecules have been prepared simply by performing the polymerization of hydrophilic monomers solubilized in the micellar core of reversed micelles, and they represent distinct macromolecular species from those obtained in bulk [191,240]. 

The overall objective of this chapter is to review the fundamental issues involved in the transport of macromolecules in hydrophilic media made of synthetic or naturally occurring uncharged polymers with nanometer-scale pore structure when an electric field is applied. The physical and chemical properties and structural features of hydrophilic polymeric materials will be considered first. Although the emphasis will be on classical polymeric gels, discussion of polymeric solutions and nonclassical gels made of, for example, un-cross-linked macromolecular units such as linear polymers and micelles will also be considered in light of recent interest in these materials for a number of applications... 

The structure of these gel-like systems of micelles is very different from that of conventional electrophoresis media made from chemically and physically cross-linked polymers of polyacrylamide and agarose [75], The absence of chemical or physical cross-links in the Pluronic gel-like phases may allow a larger degree of freedom for macromolecular transport around the obstacles that make up the medium than occurs in conventional electrophoresis media. 

The copolymer-based systems possessing the core-shell structure in solutions are known and studied rather well (see, e.g., [14-16]). These copolymers in aqueous media tend to form polymeric micelles, which are often considered as promising drug delivery nano-vehicles [ 17,18], i.e., these macromolecular systems are not only of scientific, but also of considerable applied significance. Among such systems there are interesting examples, whose properties are very similar to the properties that should be inherent in the protein-like copolymers. All of these macromolecules possess the primary structure of... 

So G, Karotki A, Verma S, Pritzker K, Wilson B, Chiang LY (2006) Comparison of singlet oxygen generation efficiency between water-soluble C60-diphenylaminofluorene conjugates and molecular micelle-like FC4S. Journal of Macromolecular Science Part A-Pure and Applied Chemistry 43 1955-1963. 

Hemes encapsulated in aqueous detergent micelles find themselves in a large macromolecular cavity whose interaction is mainly hydrophobic. It has been suggested that such systems appear to simulate the electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions of the heme cavity in metalloproteins. The present article surveys reported studies on natural and synthetic hemes, both ferric and ferrous, incorporated inside micelles of different sizes and surface charges. The emphasis is laid on multinuclear NMR and optical spectroscopic studies. The effect of micellar interactions on the electronic properties of hemes is discussed and compared with that of the heme cavity in proteins. 

It has been suggested that aqueous micellar systems simulate the electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions of the heme cavity [15-23]. Pioneering studies by Simplicio et al. [15-17] have shown that the heme is monodispersed when encapsulated in aqueous micelles. They have studied binding of cyanide and other axial ligands to ferric hemes in micellar environments. These studies [15-23] indicated that a heme encapsulated in an aqueous detergent micelle finds itself inside a large macromolecular cavity whose interactions is primarily... 

Cammas-Marion S, Okano T, Kataoka K. Functional and site-specific macromolecular micelles as high potential drug carriers. Colloids Surf B 1999 16 207-215. 

The possibility to carry out conformational studies of peptides at low concentrations and in the presence of complex biological systems represents a major advantage of fluorescence spectroscopy over other techniques. Fluorescence quantum yield or lifetime determinations, anisotropy measurements and singlet-singlet resonance energy transfer experiments can be used to study the interaction of peptides with lipid micelles, membranes, proteins, or receptors. These fluorescence techniques can be used to determine binding parameters and to elucidate conformational aspects of the interaction of the peptide with a particular macro-molecular system. The limited scope of this chapter does not permit a comprehensive review of the numerous studies of this kind that have been carried and only a few general aspects are briefly discussed here. Fluorescence studies of peptide interactions with macromolecular systems published prior to 1984 have been reviewed. 

In contrast to the above-described kinetic stability, colloids may also be thermodynamically stable. A stable macromolecular solution is an example we have already discussed. Formation of micelles beyond the critical micelle concentration is another example of the formation of a thermodynamically stable colloidal phase. However, when the concentration of the (say, initially spherical) micelles increases with addition of surfactants to the system, the spherical micelles may become thermodynamically unstable and may form other forms of (thermodynamically stable) surfactant assemblies of more complex shapes (such as cylindrical micelles, liquid-crystalline phases, bilayers, etc.). 

This bimodal dynamics of hydration water is intriguing. A model based on dynamic equilibrium between quasi-bound and free water molecules on the surface of biomolecules (or self-assembly) predicts that the orientational relaxation at a macromolecular surface should indeed be biexponential, with a fast time component (few ps) nearly equal to that of the free water while the long time component is equal to the inverse of the rate of bound to free transition [4], In order to gain an in depth understanding of hydration dynamics, we have carried out detailed atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulation studies of water dynamics at the surface of an anionic micelle of cesium perfluorooctanoate (CsPFO), a cationic micelle of cetyl trimethy-lainmonium bromide (CTAB), and also at the surface of a small protein (enterotoxin) using classical, non-polarizable force fields. In particular we have studied the hydrogen bond lifetime dynamics, rotational and dielectric relaxation, translational diffusion and vibrational dynamics of the surface water molecules. In this article we discuss the water dynamics at the surface of CsPFO and of enterotoxin. 

In conclusion, the incorporation of Gd(III) complexes into macromolecular systems (dendrimers, linear polymers, micelles) does not significantly affect the water exchange kinetics, exceptions have only been found for few protein bound chelates. 

Three different viewpoints on the humic substances structural conformation are actually reported in the literature. One suggests that HS are macromolecular and assume random coil conformations in solution (Swift, 1999) a second proposes that HS are molecular associations of relatively small molecules held together by weak interaction forces, thus forming a supramolecular structure (Piccolo and Conte, 1999) a third considers that HS are in solution as micelles or pseudomicellar structures (Wershaw, 1999). Viewpoints two and three could be broadly considered to be under the same umbrella (Clapp and Hayes, 1999). 

Covalent and metallosupramolecular block copolymers have been combined in a single macromolecular structure. In this respect a terpyridine-functionalized PS-P2 VP has been complexed with a terpyridine-functionalized PEO, leading to a PS32-P2VPi3-[Ru]-PE07o ABC triblock copolymer [330]. This copolymer was further used to prepare core-shell-corona micelles consisting of a PS core, a pH-responsive P2VP shell, and a PEO corona. 

It is argued here that the formation of casein micelles is a highly controlled process, producing a macromolecular complex with a specific structure and function. This point needs to be stressed because of a long-standing view of caseins as random coil-type proteins which associate to produce a largely random coil complex having only a nutritional function. 

Figure 7 Plot of the change in the product of the coupling and maximum saturation factors as a function of macromolecular structure. At lower pH values, the spin-labelled lipids are present as vesicles and vesicular aggregates, while at higher pH values, micelles are formed. The higher psmax values for the micelles imply greater water accessibility to the radical site. The solid circles represent 16-DS (16-doxyl stearic acid, spin-labelled at the end of the lipid tail) while the open circles represent 5-DS (5-doxyl stearic acid, spin-labelled near the polar head group). Reproduced with permission from Ref. [70].

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