RAFT-polymerized poly(hexafluoroisopropyl methacrylate)s as precursors for functional water-soluble polymers

Post-polymerization modification of well-defined precursor polymers is a versatile tool to obtain multifunctional water-soluble polymers that cannot be synthesized by common polymerization techniques. For the first time, 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoroisopropyl methacrylate (HFIPMA) based homo and block copolymers were synthesized via RAFT polymerization to provide precise precursors for the post-polymerization modification of the 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoroisopropyl ester side chains with water-soluble amines (methoxy tri(ethylene glycol) amine, 2-hydroxypropyl amine and 3-(dimethylamino)-1-propylamine). Sequential aminolysis using Oregon Green cadaverine first followed by 2-hydroxypropyl amine enables …

Degradable cationic nanohydrogel particles for stimuli-responsive release of siRNA.

Well-defined nanogels have become quite attractive as safe and stable carriers for siRNA delivery. However, to avoid nanoparticle accumulation, they need to provide a stimuli-responsive degradation mechanism that can be activated at the payload's site of action. In this work, the synthetic concept for generating well-defined nanohydrogel particles is extended to incorporate disulfide cross-linkers into a cationic nanonetwork for redox-triggered release of oligonucleotide payload as well as nanoparticle degradation under reductive conditions of the cytoplasm. Therefore, a novel disulfide-modified spermine cross-linker is designed that both allows disassembly of the nanogel as well as removal…

Macromol. Rapid Commun. 24/2014