Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to David M Haddleton.
Hydroxyl functional poly(amidoamine) dendron wedges have been reacted with the surface of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and used for templating silver nanoparticles.
BSA and lysozyme have been transformed into macroinitiators for living radical polymerisation and used to produce well-defined bioconjugates which can be fluorescently labelled providing a versatile strategy for the preparation of bioconjugates which is complementary to traditional PEGylation.
The synthesis of novel well-defined alkyne side chain functional polymers featuring narrow molecular weight distributions (PDI = 1.09-1.17) by living radical polymerization is described. Grafting of protected and unprotected carbohydrates is achieved via either a C-6 or an anomeric azide (alpha or beta) onto these polymers by Cu(I)-catalyzed "click chemistry", providing a simple and efficient route to synthetic glycopolymers. The strategy provides an extremely powerful tool for the synthesis of libraries of materials that differ only in the nature of the sugar moiety presented on a well-defined polymer scaffold. A library of multivalent ligands were then prepared following a "coclicking" synthetic protocol, and the reactivity of these glycopolymers in the presence of concanavalin A and Ricinus communis agglutinin, model lectins able to selectively bind appropriate mannose and galactose derivatives, respectively, was assessed.
Gamete-gamete interactions are critically modulated by carbohydrate-protein interactions that rely on the carbohydrate-selective recognition of polyvalent carbohydrate structures. A galactose-binding protein has been identified in mammalian spermatozoa that has similarity to the well-characterized hepatic asialoglycoprotein receptor. With the aim of exploiting the ability of this class of proteins to bind and internalize macromolecules displaying galactose, we designed hybrid carbohydrate-antioxidant polymers to deliver antioxidant vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) to porcine spermatozoa. Treatment of sperm cells with one hybrid polymer in particular produced large increases in intracellular sperm levels of alpha-tocopherol and greatly reduced endogenous fatty acid degradation under oxidative stress. The polymer-treated spermatozoa had enhanced physiological properties and longer half-lives, which resulted in enhanced fertilization rates. Our results indicate that hybrid polymer delivery systems can prolong the functional viability of mammalian spermatozoa and improve fertility rates, and that our functionally guided optimization strategy can be applied to the discovery of active glycoconjugate ligands.
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A series of alpha-functional maleimide polymethacrylates (M(n) = 4.1-35.4 kDa, PDi = 1.06-1.27) have been prepared via copper-catalyzed living radical polymerization (LRP). Two independent synthetic protocols have been successfully developed and the polymers obtained in multigram scale, with an 80-100% content of maleimide reactive chain ends, depending on the method employed. A method for the synthesis of amino-terminated polymers, starting from Boc-protected amino initiators, has also been developed, as these derivatives are key intermediates in one of the two processes studied in the present work. The alternative synthetic pathway involves an initiator containing a maleimide unit "protected" as a Diels-Alder adduct. After the polymerization step, the maleimide functionality has been reintroduced by retro-Diels-Alder reaction, by simply refluxing those polymers in toluene for 7 h. These maleimido-terminated materials, poly(methoxyPEG((475))) methacrylates and poly(glycerol) methacrylates, differ for both the nature and size of the polymer side branches and showed an excellent solubility in water, a property that made them an ideal candidate for the synthesis of new polymer-(poly)peptide biomaterials. These functional polymers have been successfully employed in conjugation reactions in the presence of thiol-containing model substrates, namely, reduced glutathione (gamma-Glu-Cys-Gly) and the carrier protein, bovine serum albumin (BSA), in 100 mM phosphate buffer (pH 6.8-7.4) and ambient temperature.
Azide terminally functional poly(methyl methacrylate)s (Mn = 4000-6000, PDI = 1.21-1.28) have been prepared by living radical polymerization and successfully reacted with alkynes in a Huisgen cycloaddition (click) reaction in one pot using the same catalyst for both processes.
A combination of A-B and B-C block copolymers was used to encapsulate DNA inside pEG coated particles, where A is a cationic block (poly(dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate), pDMAEMA) for DNA binding and condensation, B is a hydrophobic block (poly(butylmethacrylate), pBMA) and C is a polyethylene glycol (pEG) block. The AB and BC block copolymers were synthesized by transition metal mediated radical polymerization. The AB block copolymer had a fixed pBMA molecular weight of 3800 g/mol and a varying pDMAEMA molecular weight (from 22 to 65 kg/mol), the BC block copolymer had a fixed composition (pBMA 9000 g/mol; pEG 2000 g/mol). Plasmid DNA containing particles were made via a detergent dialysis method. By this method, particles of approximately 120 nm, as determined by dynamic light scattering (DLS), with a near neutral charge were formed, independent of the DMAEMA block size. DLS measurements and gel electrophoresis indicated that the particles were very stable in cell culture medium at 37 degrees C and resistant to anionic exchange by poly-l-aspartic acid. The particles were able to transfect COS-7 and OVCAR-3 cells with minor toxicity if incubated for 1 or 4 h; incubation for 24 h resulted in an increased toxicity. This paper shows that small polyplexes with near neutral charge can be obtained via a convenient detergent dialysis method using pDMAEMA-b-pBMA and pBMA-b-pEG. These particles may be interesting for in vivo experiments where particles with high positive charges have adverse interactions with blood components.
PURPOSE: The adhesion of a range of polymers based on poly(2-(dimethylamino-ethyl) methacrylate (pDMAEMA) was assessed using human mucus-secreting and non mucus-secreting intestinal cell monolayers, HT29-MTX-E12 (E12) and HT29 monolayers, as well as excised non-everted intestinal sacs from rats. Differentiation of mucoadhesion from bioadhesion was achieved by pre-treatment with the mucolytic agent, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC). Adherence of pDMAEMA polymers was compared to that obtained with the mucoadhesive, N-trimethylated chitosan (TMC). METHODS: The quantity of adherent coumarin 343-conjugated polymers to HT29, E12, and intestinal sacs was measured by fluorescence. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), light microscopy, and fluorescent microscopy were used to provide direct evidence. Measurements of transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER), permeability to FITC-dextran 4000 (FD-4), and the release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were used to assess potential cytotoxicity of polymers. RESULTS: Adherence of unquaternized and of 10%, 24%, and 32% methyl iodide-quaternized pDMAEMA polymers was measured in E12, HT29, and sacs. All pDMAEMA polymers showed significantly higher levels of adhesion to mucus (mucoadhesion) than to epithelium (bioadhesion). Colocalization of pDMAEMA with mucus was confirmed in E12 by microscopy. TMC showed equally high levels of mucoadhesion as unquaternized and 24% quaternized pDMAEMA, but displayed higher levels of bioadhesion. pDMAEMA-based polymers demonstrated lower levels of adherence to E12 and rat sacs in the presence of NAC, whereas adherence of TMC was unchanged. pDMAEMA significantly decreased the permeability of FD-4 across E12 monolayers and sacs and was less cytotoxic in E12 than in HT29. In contrast, TMC increased the permeability of FD-4 across E12 and sacs and was less cytotoxic in E12 than in HT29. CONCLUSIONS: Human mucus-producing E12 monolayers can be used to assess polymer mucoadhesion and give similar data to isolated rat intestinal sacs. pDMAEMA displayed similar levels of mucoadhesion and lower levels of bioadhesion than a chitosan derivative and it was not cytotoxic. pDMAEMA decreased FD-4 flux in the presence of mucus, whereas TMC increased it. The combination of mucus and methacrylate polymers appears to increase barrier function of the apical membrane.
Application of proteins and peptides as human therapeutics is expanding rapidly as drug discovery becomes more prevalent. Conjugation of polymers to proteins can circumvent many problems and pegylation of proteins is now emerging as acceptable practice. This paper describes the synthesis of alpha-aldehyde-terminated poly(methoxyPEG)methacrylates from Cu(I) mediated living radical polymerization (Mn = 11 000, 22 000 and 32 000; PDi < 1.15), and their efficient conjugation to lysozyme, as a model protein. This offers an attractive and flexible alternative to linear poly(ethylene glycol) opening up the possibility of using the full power of living radical polymerization.
The synthesis of protein-polymer bioconjugates is reported using N-succinimidyl ester functionalised polymers from transition metal mediated living radical polymerisation.
Metallo-supramolecular diiron(II) triple-helical cores based on pyridylimine ligands and decorated with acrylate or methacrylate units are copolymerised with methyl methacrylate (MMA) as major comonomer using AIBN.
The rate of propagation in the free-radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate in an ionic liquid has been determined and shows unprecedented solvent-induced acceleration, partially explaining the surprising increase in overall rates of polymerization and molecular weights in these solvents.
The Reversible Addition-Fragmentation chain Transfer (RAFT) polymerisation of acrylates, methacrylates and styrene is reported for the first time in room temperature ionic liquids; the acrylate and methacrylate polymerisations show a living character and lead to well-characterised polymers, with narrow polydispersity (< 1.3); in the case of styrene, the insolubility of the polymer in the ionic liquids stops the polymerisation at an early stage.
Carbon-13 kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) have been determined for free-radical and copper-mediated living radical polymerizations of methyl methacrylate at 60 degrees C. While free-radical polymerization shows only one primary 13C KIE, on the least-substituted double bond carbon (k12/k13 = 1.045), two significant KIEs are observed, one on each double bond carbon, for copper-mediated polymerization (k12/k13(H2C=) = 1.050, k12/k13(=C <) = 1.010), showing that copper-mediated living radical polymerization does not propagate via a simple free radical process.
Wang resin has been converted to a supported initiator for transition metal-mediated living radical polymerization often called atom-transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of 2-vinyl-4,4-dimethyl-5-oxazolone (VDM) and styrene (S). Several "Rasta" resins with well-defined macromolecular architectures, including homopolymers PVDM, PS, statistical P(S-stat-VDM), block P(S-b-VDM), and P[S-b-(S-stat-VDM)] copolymers, have been elaborated. For the homopolymerization of VDM and S, a sacrificial initiator, benzyl 2-bromoisobutyrate (BBI), has been introduced to monitor the evolution of molar masses and polydispersity indexes (PDIs) of PS and PVDM onto the Wang resin support without cleavage. After 6 h, 86.7% conversion of VDM is reached, with the isolated PVDM chains having a molar mass of 18 000 g mol(-1) and a PDI value of 1.22. Block copolymers have been synthesized in two steps, involving the synthesis of the PS block isolated at low conversions (<15%) to maintain the bromine end-chain functionality and the subsequent synthesis of the second PVDM or P(S-stat-VDM) block. Polydispersity indexes of the cleaved (co)polymers were low (PDI = 1.11-1.44), and high azlactone loadings have been reached (loading = 6.0 mmol g(-1)). Such azlactone-functionalized Wang resins have shown high efficiency during the scavenging process of benzylamine as monitored by HPLC. Moreover, grafted statistical copolymers have shown the best behavior for removing benzylamine because of an improvement of the accessibility of azlactone rings by the dilution with styrene units.