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pH-responsive star-shaped functionalized poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(ε-caprolactone) with amino groups

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Abstract

Functional star-shaped 4-arm poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly[(ε-caprolactone-co-γ-amino-ε-caprolactone)] (4-arm PEG-b-P(CL-co-ACL) was synthesized through ring-opening polymerization. The structure of the copolymer was confirmed by 1H NMR, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). To further understand the copolymers, the difference of the conversion rate between ε-caprolactone (CL) and γ-(carbamic acid benzyl ester)-ε-caprolactone (CABCL) and the detailed deprotection condition were studied. The thermal property of the copolymer was analyzed by WAXR and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), which demonstrated that the thermal property could be well adjusted. The pH-responsive behavior of the copolymers was studied in detail by dynamic light scattering (DLS), pH titration, and pyrene fluorescence methods, which indicated that it could form micelles and exhibit pH responsibility. Moreover, the copolymer was nontoxic and had good biocompatibility according to the results by 3-(4,5)-dimethylthiahiazo (-z-y1)-3,5-di-phenytetrazoliumromide (MTT) assay.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (20804015, 21274039, 81371123), Jiangsu Natural Science Foundation (BK2012844), Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education (20130074110007) and BasicResearch Key Program Project of Commission of Science and Technology of Shanghai (12JC1403000, 12JC1403100) are gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Polymeric Materials, Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200237, China

    Yutong Fu, Xinyu Xia, Yan Zhang & Meidong Lang

  2. Institute of Stomatology, School of Stomatology, Nanjing Medical University, 136 Hanzhong Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, 210029, China

    Jinhai Ye

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  1. Yutong Fu
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  2. Xinyu Xia
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  3. Yan Zhang
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Correspondence to Yan Zhang or Meidong Lang.

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Fu, Y., Xia, X., Zhang, Y. et al. pH-responsive star-shaped functionalized poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(ε-caprolactone) with amino groups. Colloid Polym Sci 292, 2071–2082 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-014-3261-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-014-3261-5

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