pH-triggered self-assembly of biocompatible histamine-functionalized triblock copolymers.

Lundberg, Pontus; Lynd, Nathaniel A; Zhang, Yuning; Zeng, Xianghui; Krogstad, Daniel V; Paffen, Tim; Malkoch, Michael; Nyström, Andreas M et al. · Soft Matter · 2013

basic_science · Level V

Where this comes from

Abstract

Histamine functionalized poly(allyl glycidyl ether)-<i>b</i>-poly(ethylene glycol)-<i>b</i>-poly(allyl glycidyl ether) (PAGE-PEO-PAGE) triblock copolymers represent a new class of physically cross-linked, pH-responsive hydrogels with significant potential for biomedical applications. These telechelic triblock copolymers exhibited abrupt and reversible hydrogelation above pH 7.0 due to a hudrophilic/hydrophobic transition of the histamine units to form a network of hydrophobic domains bridged by a hydrophilic PEO matrix. These hydrophobic domains displayed improved ordering upon increasing pH and self-assembled into a body centered cubic lattice at pH 8.0, while at lower concentrations formed well-defined micelles. Significantly, all materials were found to be non-toxic when evaluated on three different cell lines and suggests a range of medical and biomedical applications.