Semi-permeable coatings fabricated from comb-polymers efficiently protect proteins in vivo

Site-Specific Polymer Conjugation Stabilizes Therapeutic Enzymes in the Gastrointestinal Tract

The site-specific conjugation of polymers to multiple engineered cysteine residues of a prolyl endopeptidase leads to its stabilization in the gastrointestinal tract of rats, without compromising the activity relative to the native enzyme. The importance of polymer attachment sites is investigated, as well as the significance of polymer structure.

POEGMA-based disulfide-containing fluorescent probes for imitating and tracing noninternalization-based intracellular drug delivery

This study provides a proof-of-concept demonstration of exploiting bioreduction in the extracellular spaces for the intracellular delivery of hydrophobic drugs or probes.

Site-Specific Zwitterionic Polymer Conjugates of a Protein Have Long Plasma Circulation

Many proteins suffer from suboptimal pharmacokinetics (PK) that limit their utility as drugs. The efficient synthesis of polymer conjugates of protein drugs with tunable PK to optimize their in vivo efficacy is hence critical. We report here the first study of the in vivo behavior of a site-specific conjugate of a zwitterionic polymer and a protein. To synthesize the conjugate, we first installed an initiator for atom-transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) at the N terminus of myoglobin (Mb-N-Br). Subsequently, in situ ATRP was carried out in aqueous buffer to grow an amine-functionalized polymer from Mb-N-Br. The cationic polymer was further derivatized to two zwitterionic polymers by treating the amine groups of the cationic polymer with iodoacetic acid to obtain poly(carboxybetaine methacrylate) with a one-carbon spacer (PCBMA; C1 ), and sequentially with 3-iodopropionic acid and iodoacetic acid to obtain PCBMA(mix) with a mixture of C1 and C2 spacers. The Mb-N-PCBMA polymer conjugates had a longer in vivo plasma half-life than a PEG-like comb polymer conjugate of similar molecular weights (MW). The structure of the zwitterion plays a role in controlling the in vivo behavior of the conjugate, as the PCBMA conjugate with a C1 spacer had significantly longer plasma circulation than the conjugate with a mixture of C1 and C2 spacers.

One-dimensional porous nanofibers of Co3O4 on the carbon matrix from human hair with superior lithium ion storage performance

One-dimensional (1D) hierarchical porous nanofibers of Co3O4 possessing of (220) facets on the carbon matrix from human hair (H2@Co3O4) with 20-30 nm in width and 3-5 μm in length are prepared by a facile solvothermal and calcination approach. The well crystallized small Co3O4 particles with the diameter of about 8-12 nm were closely aggregated together in the nanofibers. Electrochemical analyses show that the first discharge capacity of H2@Co3O4 electrode is 1368 mAh g(-1) at the current density of 0.1 A g(-1) based on the total mass of composite. A high reversible capacity of 916 mAh g (-1) was obtained over 100 cycles at 0.1 A g(-1), presenting a good cycling stability. When cycled at a high current density of 1 and 2 A g(-1), the specific capacity of 659 and 573 mAh g(-1) could be still achieved, respectively, indicating a superior power capability.