Search results for "Polyelectrolyte"
showing 10 items of 214 documents
Polyhydroxyethylaspartamide-spermine copolymers: Efficient vectors for gene delivery
2008
Abstract Aim of this paper was that to prepare biocompatible, polyaspartamide based copolymers containing spermine or spermine/hydrophobic side chains able to condense nucleic acids and to transfect mammalian cells. Copolymers were prepared starting from α,β-poly-(N-2-hydroxyethyl)- d , l -aspartamide (PHEA) and exploiting the reactive hydroxyl groups in the polymeric side chains by subsequent activation reactions to obtain PHEA-Spermine (PHEA-Spm) and PHEA-Spermine-Butyramide (PHEA-Spm-C4). Molecular, physico-chemical and biological characterization of copolymers and interpolyelectrolyte complexes with plasmid DNA was performed. Experimental results evidenced that these copolymers are able…
Efficient Shielding of Polyplexes Using Heterotelechelic Polysarcosines
2018
Shielding agents are commonly used to shield polyelectrolyte complexes, e.g. polyplexes, from agglomeration, precipitation in complex media, like blood, and thus enhance their circulation times in vivo. Since up to now primarily poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) has been investigated to shield non-viral carriers for systemic delivery, we report on the use of polysarcosine (pSar) as a potential alternative for steric stabilization. A redox-sensitive, cationizable lipo-oligomer structure (containing two cholanic acids attached via a bioreducible disulfide linker to an oligoaminoamide backbone in T-shape configuration) was equipped with azide-functionality by solid phase supported synthesis. After m…
Low-fouling, mixed-charge poly-L-lysine polymers with anionic oligopeptide side-chains
2018
Biosensors and biomedical devices require antifouling surfaces to prevent the non-specific adhesion of proteins or cells, for example, when aiming to detect circulating cancer biomarkers in complex natural media (e.g., in blood plasma or serum). A mixed-charge polymer was prepared by the coupling of a cationic polyelectrolyte and an anionic oligopeptide through a modified "grafting-to" method. The poly-l-lysine (PLL) backbone was modified with different percentages (y%) of maleimide-NHS ester chains (PLL-mal(y%), from 13% to 26%), to produce cationic polymers with specific grafting densities, obtaining a mixed-charge polymer. The anionic oligopeptide structure (CEEEEE) included one cysteine…
Divalent Cations Reduce the pH Sensitivity of OmpF Channel Inducing the PKA Shift of Key Acidic Residues
2011
In contrast to the highly-selective channels of neurophysiology employing mostly the exclusion mechanism, different factors account for the selectivity of large channels. Elucidation of these factors is essential for understanding the permeation mechanisms in ion channels and their regulation in vivo. The interaction between divalent cations and a protein channel, the bacterial porin OmpF, has been investigated paying attention to the channel selectivity and its dependence on the solution pH. Unlike the experiments performed in salts of monovalent cations, the channel is now practically insensitive to pH, being anion selective all over the pH range considered. Electrostatic calculations bas…
Fabrication of polyelectrolyte multilayered vesicles as inhalable dry powder for lung administration of rifampicin
2014
A polyelectrolyte complex based on chitosan and carrageenan was used to coat rifampicin-loaded vesicles and obtain a dry powder for inhalation by spray-drying. The polymer complexation on vesicle surface stabilized them and improved their adhesion on airways and epithelia cells. Uncoated liposomes were small in size, negatively charged and able to incorporate large amounts of rifampicin (70%). Coated vesicles were still able to load adequate amounts of drug (∼70%) but the coating process produced larger particles (1 μm) that were positively charged and with a spherical shape. Aerosol performances, evaluated using the next-generation impactor, showed that coated vesicles reached the 50% of f…
Operational Mechanism of Conjugated Polyelectrolytes
2014
Conjugated polyelectrolytes (CPEs) are versatile materials used in a range of organic optoelectronic applications. Because of their ionic/electronic nature, characterizing these materials is nontrivial, and their operational mechanism is not fully understood. In this work we use a methodology that combines constant-voltage-driven current-density transient measurements with fast current vs voltage scans to allow decoupling of ionic and electronic phenomena. This technique is applied to diodes prepared with cationic CPEs having different charge-compensating anions. Our results indicate that the operational mechanism of these devices is governed by electrochemical doping of the CPE. On the bas…
Convective electrodiffusion processes through graft-modified charged porous membranes
1999
Convective diffusion and electrophoresis across a charged porous membrane showing variable permeability properties were studied. The membrane used was prepared by grafting poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) onto a porous polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane. The degree of grafting was selected to be relatively low, 18 wt%, to compromise between the ion selectivity and hydraulic permeability of the membrane. The possible electric field induced effects on the membrane permselectivity were examined after the membrane had been characterized by convective diffusion and concentration cell potential measurements. The measured electrophoresis data, however, could be modelled using the extended Teorell–Mey…
Nonlinear hairy layer theory of electrophoretic fingerprinting applied to consecutive layer by layer polyelectrolyte adsorption onto charged polystyr…
1997
The consecutive layer-by-layer adsorption of poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and poly(styrenesulfonate) (PSS) on colloidal charged latex particles is investigated by measuring the electrophoretic mobility as a function of pH and ionic strength over a broad range (electrophoretic fingerprinting). Meaningful interpretation of the data required the development of a nonlinear approach to hairy particle electrophoresis including dissociation, adsorption, and association. Steric and electrostatic exclusion of mobile ions from the hairy layer has been considered. Also, the surface conductivity correction is extended to the case of charged hairy layer particles. We deposited up to three polyel…
Evaluation of adhesion forces for the manipulation of micro-objects in submerged environment through deposition of pH responsive polyelectrolyte laye…
2016
Optimization of surface treatment for reversible adhesion of micro-objects in liquid environment for the need in microassembly processes is presented. A spherical borosilicate probe and planar oxidized silicon wafer substrates were modified by deposition of pH sensitive polyelectrolyte films through layer-by-layer technique. Branched polyethylenimine (b-PEI) and poly(sodium styrenesulfonate) (PSS) were deposited in alternating manner on surfaces, and the influence of polyelectrolyte concentration, pH of deposition, and number of layers on the adhesion were successively examined. The multilayer buildup was followed by optical reflectometry (OR) and dissipative quartz crystal microbalance (QC…
Fuel Cell Performances of Bio-Membranes Made of Chitosan-Polyelectrolyte Thin Films and Nanowires into Anodic Alumina Membranes
2012
Chitosan (CS) / Phosphotungstic acid (PTA) polyelectrolytes in the shape of thin films and nanowires supported by Anodic Alumina Membranes (AAM) have been fabricated through solution cast and filtration techniques, respectively. Their ability to function in a H2/O2 fuel cell under mild conditions (room temperature, low humidity and low Pt loading) is proved for the first time. The fabricated membrane electrode assemblies produce power peaks of ~20 mW cm-2 for both films and nanowires. The CS/PTA films (20-40 μm thick) are able to produce a quite constant power density of ~10 mW cm-2 recorded for at least 7 h. The gradual decrease of the power output with time observed for CS/PTA nanowires i…