Search results for " self-assembling"

Hyaluronan Graft Copolymers Bearing Fatty-Acid Residues as Self-Assembling Nanoparticles for Olanzapine Delivery

2019

In order to evaluate the potential of a technology platform based on hyaluronan copolymers grafted with propargylated ferulate fluorophores (HA-FA-Pg) in the development of drug delivery systems, the propargyl groups of HA-FA-Pg derivatives were employed with oleic acid (OA) or stearic acid (SA) residues across a biocompatible hexa(ethylene glycol) (HEG) spacer. The designed materials (i.e., HA-FA-HEG-OA or HA-FA-HEG-SA) showed clear-cut aggregation features in an aqueous environment, as confirmed by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), generating nanoaggregate systems. In fact, HA-FA-HEG-OA and HA-FA-HEG-SA derivatives showed the property to create sel…

Sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate self-aggregation in vacuo: molecular dynamics simulation.

2010

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were conducted for systems in vacuo consisting of n AOT(-) anions (bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate ions) and n+/- 1 or n Na(+) ions up to n = 20. For n = 15, positively charged systems with Li(+), K(+), and Cs(+) cations were also considered. All systems were observed to form reverse micelle-like aggregates whose centre is occupied by cations and polar heads in a very compact solid-like way, while globally the aggregate has the form of an elongated and rather flat ellipsoid. Various types of statistical analyses were carried out on the systems to enlighten structural and dynamical properties including gyration radius, atomic pair correlation functions, at…

Surfactant self-assembling in the gas phase: bis(2-ethylhexyl)- sulfosuccinate divalent metal ion anionic aggregates

2012

RATIONALE: Investigation of fundamental aspects driving surfactant self-assembling and of the capability of including guest molecules or ions in their micellar aggregates is an exciting research field for theoretical and technological reasons. In this light, assembling and chelating properties of sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOTNa) towards divalent metal ion chlorides have been investigated in the gas phase by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry in negative ion mode, tandem mass spectrometry and energy-resolved mass spectrometry. METHODS:Water/methanol solutions of AOTNa and chloride salts of nickel, magnesium, calcium and manganese, with different AOTNa/metal salt ratios, …

Design, Synthesis and Characterization of a Visible-Light-Sensitive Molecular Switch and Its PEGylation Towards a Self-Assembling Molecule.

2022

HBDI-like chromophores represent a novel set of biomimetic switches mimicking the fluorophore of the green fluorescent protein that are currently studied with the hope to expand the molecular switch/motor toolbox. However, until now members capable of absorbing visible light in their neutral (i. e. non-anionic) form have not been reported. In this contribution we report the preparation of an HBDI-like chromophore based on a 3-phenylbenzofulvene scaffold capable of absorbing blue light and photoisomerizing on the picosecond timescale. More specifically, we show that double-bond photoisomerization occurs in both the E-to-Z and Z-to-E directions and that these can be controlled by irradiating …

Spectroscopic and structural characterization of pure and FeCl3-containing tri-n-butyl phosphate

2014

The spectroscopic properties and liquid structure of pure tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) and FeCl3/TBP solutions have been investigated by Uv–Vis and Raman spectroscopies, X-ray diffraction and conductometry. Uv–Vis and Raman spectra, supported by conductometric measurements, consistently indicate that the solubilized salt is present mostly as TBP n [FeCl3 − n ] n+ and FeCl4 − complex ions due to specific interaction with the TBP phosphate group. Thanks to this interaction, a high amount of salt (up to 13 % w/w) can be dissolved despite the relatively low dielectric constant of TBP. The X-ray diffractogram of pure TBP has been interpreted in terms of three main contributions which can be attri…

Structure, stability, and fragmentation of sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate negatively charged aggregates in vacuo by MD simulations.

2014

Negatively charged supramolecular aggregates formed in vacuo by n bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT(-)) anions and n + n(c) sodium counterions (i.e., [AOT(n) Na(n+nc)](nc)) have been investigated by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for n = 1 to 20 and n(c) = -1 to -5. By comparing the maximum excess charge values of negatively and positively charged AOTNa aggregates, it is found that the charge storage capability is higher for the latter systems, the difference decreasing as the aggregation number increases. Statistical analysis of physical properties like gyration radii and moment of inertia tensors of aggregates provides detailed information on their structural properties. Even for …

Multicomponent polymeric micelles based on polyaspartamide as tunable fluorescent pH-window biosensors

2010

Abstract PHEA-PEG 5000 -C 16 is a polyaspartamide polymer with appended hydrophilic PEG 5000 functions and hydrophobic n-C 16 units forming biocompatible micelles with a CAC as low as 1.8 × 10 −7  M. The protonation and acidity constants of the polymer's amino and carboxylic groups have been determined by potentiometric titrations at five different concentrations higher than CAC, finding concentration-independent values. Viscosity and polarity of the micellar core have been investigated by means of fluorescent probes, finding local values comparable to those of pure toluene and to the core of sodium dodecyl sulphate micelles, independently on the protonation degree of the polymer. The fluor…

Surfactant self-assembling in gas phase: positively monocharged sodium alkanesulfonate clusters

2009

Mucoadhesive PEGylated inulin-based self-assembling nanoparticles: In vitro and ex vivo transcorneal permeation enhancement of corticosteroids

2019

Abstract As transcorneal drug delivery is still a challenge, the scope of the present study was to prepare useful nanosystems able to enhance transcorneal permeation/penetration of drugs. Moreover, this work aims to evaluate the effectiveness of inulin-based nanosystems in the specific field of ocular drug delivery and the effect of PEG chains to promote mucoadhesion, stability and transcorneal penetration/permeation enhancer effect of self-assembling nanoparticles in vitro (transwell systems and HCE) and ex vivo (Franz cells and bovine cornea). In particular, inulin was chosen as the starting natural polysaccharide polymer to design a novel amphiphilic derivative named INU-EDA-RA-PEG capab…

Oscillatory dynamics of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky system in the presence of a self-assembling nonionic polymer. Role of the reactants concentration.

2010

In the present study, the role played by the reactants concentration on the nonlinear response of a Belousov–Zhabotinsky (BZ) system to the addition of a self-assembling non-ionic polymer, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), has been assessed. The oscillatory parameters are influenced to an extent that significantly depends on the concentration of both the polymer and the Belousov–Zhabotinsky components. The effects obtained were attributed to the reaction among some of the BZ key species and the backbone and the alcoholic functional groups of the polymer, both in its monomeric and aggregated forms. Support to the proposed perturbation mechanism has been provided by performing numerical simulation…