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Synthesis, characterization, and drug delivery research of an amphiphilic biodegradable star-shaped block copolymer

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Abstract

An amphiphilic biodegradable three-arm star-shaped diblock copolymer containing poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) (TEA(PCL-b-PVP)3) has been successfully synthesized by the ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone (ε-CL), RAFT polymerization of N-vinylpyrrolidone and a coupling reaction of PCL with carboxyl-terminated PVP (PVP-COOH). In aqueous media, the star-shaped copolymer self-assembled into spherical micelles with diameters of near 106 nm. The critical micelle concentration of TEA(PCL-b-PVP)3 copolymer was determined to be 5.96 × 10−3 mg/mL. Folic acid was then used as a model drug to incorporate into TEA(PCL-b-PVP)3 micelles, the drug loading content and encapsulation efficiency is 16.36 and 49.08 %, respectively. In vitro release experiments of the drug-loaded micelles exhibited sustained release behavior and it was affected by the pH of release media. These results indicate that the copolymer may serve as a promising “intelligent” drug delivery alternative.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Fine Chemical and Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, Henan, People’s Republic of China

    Cuiping Zhai, Xuejun Liu, Jinfang Yuan & Qingyu Gao

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  1. Cuiping Zhai
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  2. Xuejun Liu
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  3. Jinfang Yuan
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  4. Qingyu Gao
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Correspondence to Qingyu Gao.

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Zhai, C., Liu, X., Yuan, J. et al. Synthesis, characterization, and drug delivery research of an amphiphilic biodegradable star-shaped block copolymer. Polym. Bull. 70, 419–429 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-012-0800-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-012-0800-4

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