Study on hydration of poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) microgels by near-IR and mid-IR spectroscopy

Molecular-Level Examination of Amorphous Solid Dispersion Dissolution

Amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) are commonly used to orally deliver small-molecule drugs that are poorly water-soluble. ASDs consist of drug molecules in the amorphous form which are dispersed in a hydrophilic polymer matrix. Producing a high-performance ASD is critical for effective drug delivery and depends on many factors such as solubility of the drug in the matrix and the rate of drug release in aqueous medium (dissolution), which is linked to bioperformance. Often, researchers perform a large number of design iterations to achieve this objective. A detailed molecular-level understanding of the mechanisms behind ASD dissolution behavior would aid in the screening, designing, and optimization of ASD formulations and would minimize the need for testing a wide variety of prototype formulations. Molecular dynamics and related types of simulations, which model the collective behavior of molecules in condensed phase systems, can provide unique insights into these mechanisms. To study the effectiveness of these simulation techniques in ASD formulation dissolution, we carried out dissipative particle dynamics simulations, which are particularly an efficient form of molecular dynamics calculations. We studied two stages of the dissolution process: the early-stage of the dissolution process, which focuses on the dissolution at the ASD/water interface, and the late-stage of the dissolution process, where significant drug release would have occurred and there would be a mixture of drug and polymer molecules in a predominantly aqueous environment. Experimentally, we used Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to study the interactions between drugs, polymers, and water in the dry and wet states and the chromatographic technique to study the rate of drug and polymer release. Both experiments and simulations provided evidence of polymer microstructures and drug-polymer interactions as important factors for the dissolution behavior of the investigated ASDs, consistent with previous work by Pudlas et al. (Eur. J. Pharm. Sci. 2015, 67, 21-31). As experimental and simulation results are consistent and complementary, it is clear that there is significant potential for combined experimental and computational research for a detailed understanding of ASD formulations and, hence, formulation optimization.

Equilibrium Swelling of Biocompatible Thermo-Responsive Copolymer Gels

Biomedical applications of thermo-responsive (TR) hydrogels require these materials to be biocompatible, non-cytotoxic, and non-immunogenic. Due to serious concerns regarding potential toxicity of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm), design of alternative homo- and copolymer gels with controllable swelling properties has recently become a hot topic. This study focuses on equilibrium swelling of five potential candidates to replace PNIPAm in biomedical and biotechnological applications: poly(N-vinylcaprolactam), poly(vinyl methyl ether), poly(N,N-dimethyl amino ethyl methacrylate), and two families of poly(2-oxazoline)s, and poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylates). To evaluate their water uptake properties and to compare them with those of substituted acrylamide gels, a unified model is developed for equilibrium swelling of TR copolymer gels with various types of swelling diagrams. Depending on the strength of hydrophobic interactions (high, intermediate, and low), the (co)polymers under consideration are split into three groups that reveal different responses at and above the volume phase transition temperature.

Synthesis of smart dual-responsive microgels: correlation between applied surfactants and obtained particle morphology

Thermo- and pH-responsive copolymer microgels were obtained by surfactant-assisted precipitation polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) and acrylic acid (AAc). The surfactants used were sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS), dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) and the nonionic n-octyl-β-d-glucopyranoside (C8G1). We investigate the influence of the surfactants on the acrylic acid incorporation rate, the particle size, particle morphology, and the swelling behaviour at pH 4 and pH 7, at which AAc is neutral or charged, respectively. It is shown that each surfactant has a specific influence, which is connected to its role in the polymerization mechanism and its charge. A combined FTIR and PCS study reveals that the particles undergo a temperature-induced change in microstructure, even if the particle hydrodynamic radius does not change significantly.

Exploration of Doubly Thermal Phase Transition Process of PDEGA-b-PDMA-b-PVCL in Water

Understanding of phase transition mechanism of thermoresponsive polymers is the basis for the rational design of smart materials with predictable properties. Linear ABC triblock terpolymer poly(di(ethylene glycol)ethyl ether acrylate)-b-poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide)-b-poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) (PDEGA-b-PDMA-b-PVCL) was synthesized by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. The doubly thermal phase transition of PDEGA-b-PDMA-b-PVCL in aqueous solution was investigated by a combination of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), turbidimetry, and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The terpolymer self-assembles into micelles with PDEGA being the core-forming block during the first lower critical solution temperature (LCST) transition corresponding to PDEGA, which is followed by a second LCST transition corresponding to PVCL, resulting in the formation of micellar aggregates. The PDMA middle segment plays an important role as an isolation zone to prevent cooperative dehydration of the PDEGA and PVCL segments, and therefore, two independent LCST transitions corresponding to PDEGA and PVCL were observed. Furthermore, FT-IR with perturbation correlation moving window (PCMW) and two-dimensional spectroscopy (2DCOS) was applied to elucidate the two-step phase transition mechanism of this terpolymer. It was observed that the CH, ester carbonyl, and ether groups of PDEGA change prior to the CH and amide carbonyl groups of PVCL, further supporting that the two phase transitions corresponding to PDEGA and PVCL indeed occur without mutual interferences.

Reversible Size Modulation of Aqueous Microgels via Orthogonal or Combined Application of Thermo- and Phototriggers

Aqueous microgels that respond orthogonally to external temperature and light stimuli and to a combination of both stimuli were developed. N-Vinylcaprolactam (VCL) was copolymerized with small feed amounts (<5 mol %) of 4-[(4-methacryloyloxy)phenylazo] benzenesulfonic acid (ABSA) and cross-linked with N,N'-methylenebis(acrylamide) (BIS) to synthesize monodisperse and colloidally stable P(VCL-BIS-ABSA) microgels. The volume phase transition information on the microgels under both orthogonal and combined application of temperature and light stimuli was investigated in situ by dynamic light scattering (DLS) instrument. Modeling of this information by the Flory-Rehner theory describes and aids the preliminary understanding of the main features in the volume phase transition of these photoresponsive microgels. Interestingly, the microgels rapidly deswell upon UV irradiation (λ = 365 nm), even as the trans-ABSA pendant groups are converted to the more polar cis state. The variation in the content of the pendant azobenzene groups in the microgels allows for reversible modulation of the phototriggered volume change. We propose that the approach of the sulfonic acid groups of cis-ABSA toward the polymer backbone causes the disruption of hydrogen bonding interactions between water molecules and the carbonyl groups of VCL.

Understanding the thermosensitivity of POEGA-based star polymers: LCST-type transition in water vs. UCST-type transition in ethanol

The lower critical solution temperature (LCST) transition in water and the upper critical solution temperature (UCST) transition in ethanol of poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) acrylate) (POEGA)-based core cross-linked star (CCS) polymers have been investigated and compared by employing turbidity, dynamic light scattering (DLS), (1)H NMR and FTIR measurements. Macroscopic phase transitions in water and in ethanol were observed to occur when passing through the transition temperature, as revealed by DLS and turbidity measurements. Analysis by IR indicated that the interactions between the polymer chains and solvent molecules in water are stronger than those in ethanol such that the CCS polymer arm chains in water adopt more extended conformations. Moreover, hydrophobic interaction among the aliphatic groups plays a predominant role in the LCST-type transition in water whereas weak solvation of the polymer chains results in the UCST-type transition in ethanol. Additionally, the LCST-type transition in water was observed to be much more abrupt and complete than the UCST-type transition in ethanol, as suggested by (1)H NMR and IR at the molecular level. Finally, an abnormal "forced hydration" phenomenon was observed during the LCST transition upon heating. This study provides a detailed understanding of the subtle distinctions between the thermal transitions of CCS polymers in two commonly used solvents, which may be useful to guide future materials design for a wide range of applications.