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Mazzaferro L, Grasseschi TM, Like BD, Panzer MJ, Asatekin A. Amphiphilic Polyelectrolyte Complexes for Fouling-Resistant and Easily Tunable Membranes. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2024; 16:37952-37962. [PMID: 38990338 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c05723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/12/2024]
Abstract
Commercial membranes today are manufactured from a handful of membrane materials. While these systems are well-optimized, their capabilities remain constrained by limited chemistries and manufacturing methods available. As a result, membranes cannot address many relevant separations where precise selectivity is needed, especially with complex feeds. This constraint requires the development of novel membrane materials that offer customizable features to provide specific selectivity and durability requirements for each application, enabled by incorporating different functional chemistries into confined nanopores in a scalable process. This study introduces a new class of membrane materials, amphiphilic polyelectrolyte complexes (APECs), comprised of a blend two distinct amphiphilic polyelectrolytes of opposite charge that self-assemble to form a polymer selective layer. When coated on a porous support from a mixture in a nonaqueous solvent, APECs self-assemble to create ionic nanodomains acting as water-conducting nanochannels, enveloped within hydrophobic nanodomains, ensuring structural integrity of the layer in water. Notably, this approach allows precise control over selectivity without compromising pore size, permeability, or fouling resistance. For example, using only one pair of amphiphilic copolymers, sodium sulfate rejections can be varied from >95% to <10% with no change in effective pore size and fouling resistance. Given the wide range of amphiphilic polyelectrolytes (i.e., combinations of different hydrophobic, anionic, and cationic monomers), APECs can create membranes with many diverse chemistries and selectivities. Resultant membranes can potentially address precision separations in many applications, from wastewater treatment to chemical and biological manufacturing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Mazzaferro
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Tufts University, 4 Colby Street, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, United States
| | - Teresa M Grasseschi
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Tufts University, 4 Colby Street, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, United States
| | - Bricker D Like
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Tufts University, 4 Colby Street, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, United States
| | - Matthew J Panzer
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Tufts University, 4 Colby Street, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, United States
| | - Ayse Asatekin
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Tufts University, 4 Colby Street, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, United States
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Apuzzo E, Agazzi M, Herrera SE, Picco A, Rizzo G, Chavero C, Bianchi D, Smaldini P, Cortez ML, Marmisollé WA, Padula G, Seoane A, Alomar ML, Denofrio MP, Docena G, Azzaroni O. Poly(allylamine)-tripolyphosphate Ionic Assemblies as Nanocarriers: Friend or Foe? ACS APPLIED BIO MATERIALS 2023; 6:4714-4727. [PMID: 37863908 DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.3c00489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2023]
Abstract
Designing effective drug nanocarriers that are easy to synthesize, robust, and nontoxic is a significant challenge in nanomedicine. Polyamine-multivalent molecule nanocomplexes are promising drug carriers due to their simple and all-aqueous manufacturing process. However, these systems can present issues of colloidal instability over time and cellular toxicity due to the cationic polymer. In this study, we finely modulate the formation parameters of poly(allylamine-tripolyphosphate) complexes to jointly optimize the robustness and safety. Polyallylamine was ionically assembled with tripolyphosphate anions to form liquid-like nanocomplexes with a size of around 200 nm and a zeta potential of -30 mV. We found that nanocomplexes exhibit tremendous long-term stability (9 months of storage) in colloidal dispersion and that they are suitable as protein-loading agents. Moreover, the formation of nanocomplexes induced by tripolyphosphate anions produces a switch-off in the toxicity of the system by altering the overall charge from positive to negative. In addition, we demonstrate that nanocomplexes can be internalized by bone-marrow-derived macrophage cells. Altogether, these nanocomplexes have attractive and promising properties as delivery nanoplatforms for potential therapies based on the immune system activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eugenia Apuzzo
- Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas (INIFTA), (UNLP, CONICET), 1900 La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Maximiliano Agazzi
- Instituto para el Desarrollo Agroindustrial y de la Salud (IDAS), (UNRC, CONICET), Ruta Nacional 36 KM 601, 5800 Río Cuarto, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Santiago E Herrera
- Instituto de Química de los Materiales, Ambiente y Energía (INQUIMAE), (UBA, CONICET), C1428EGA Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Agustín Picco
- Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas (INIFTA), (UNLP, CONICET), 1900 La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Gastón Rizzo
- Instituto de Estudios Inmunológicos y Fisiopatológicos (IIFP), (UNLP, CONICET), asociado a CIC-PBA, 1900 La Plata, Buenos Aires ,Argentina
| | - Camila Chavero
- Instituto de Estudios Inmunológicos y Fisiopatológicos (IIFP), (UNLP, CONICET), asociado a CIC-PBA, 1900 La Plata, Buenos Aires ,Argentina
| | - Daiana Bianchi
- Instituto de Estudios Inmunológicos y Fisiopatológicos (IIFP), (UNLP, CONICET), asociado a CIC-PBA, 1900 La Plata, Buenos Aires ,Argentina
| | - Paola Smaldini
- Instituto de Estudios Inmunológicos y Fisiopatológicos (IIFP), (UNLP, CONICET), asociado a CIC-PBA, 1900 La Plata, Buenos Aires ,Argentina
| | - María Lorena Cortez
- Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas (INIFTA), (UNLP, CONICET), 1900 La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Waldemar A Marmisollé
- Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas (INIFTA), (UNLP, CONICET), 1900 La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Gisel Padula
- Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "Ing. Fernando Noel Dulout" (IGEVET), (UNLP, CONICET), 1900 La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo (FCNyM), (UNLP, CONICET), 1900 La Plata, Buenos Aires ,Argentina
| | - Analía Seoane
- Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "Ing. Fernando Noel Dulout" (IGEVET), (UNLP, CONICET), 1900 La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Maria Lis Alomar
- Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (INTECH), (UNSAM, CONICET) 7130, Chascomús, Buenos Aires ,Argentina
| | - Maria Paula Denofrio
- Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (INTECH), (UNSAM, CONICET) 7130, Chascomús, Buenos Aires ,Argentina
| | - Guillermo Docena
- Instituto de Estudios Inmunológicos y Fisiopatológicos (IIFP), (UNLP, CONICET), asociado a CIC-PBA, 1900 La Plata, Buenos Aires ,Argentina
| | - Omar Azzaroni
- Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y Aplicadas (INIFTA), (UNLP, CONICET), 1900 La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Illmann MD, Schäfl L, Drees F, Hartmann L, Schmidt S. Glycan-Presenting Coacervates Derived from Charged Poly(active esters): Preparation, Phase Behavior, and Lectin Capture. Biomacromolecules 2023. [PMID: 37133885 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.3c00046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
This study presents the preparation and phase behavior of glycan-functionalized polyelectrolytes for capturing carbohydrate-binding proteins and bacteria in liquid condensate droplets. The droplets are formed by complex coacervation of poly(active ester)-derived polyanions and polycations. This approach allows for a straightforward modular introduction of charged motifs and specifically interacting units; mannose and galactose oligomers are used here as first examples. The introduction of carbohydrates has a notable effect on the phase separation and the critical salt concentration, potentially by reducing the charge density. Two mannose binding species, concanavalin A (ConA) and Escherichia coli, are shown to not only specifically bind to mannose-functionalized coacervates but also to some degree to unfunctionalized, carbohydrate-free coacervates. This suggests non-carbohydrate-specific charge-charge interactions between the protein/bacteria and the droplets. However, when mannose interactions are inhibited or when non-binding galactose-functionalized polymers are used, interactions are significantly weakened. This confirms specific mannose-mediated binding functionalization and suggests that introducing carbohydrates reduces non-specific charge-charge interactions by a so far unidentified mechanism. Overall, the presented route toward glycan-presenting polyelectrolytes enables new functional liquid condensate droplets with specific biomolecular interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele Denise Illmann
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Macromolecular Chemistry, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Lea Schäfl
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Macromolecular Chemistry, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Felicitas Drees
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Macromolecular Chemistry, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
- Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Str. 31, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Laura Hartmann
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Macromolecular Chemistry, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
- Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Str. 31, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Stephan Schmidt
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Macromolecular Chemistry, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Universitätsstr. 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
- Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Str. 31, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
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A mini-review on bio-inspired polymer self-assembly: single-component and interactive polymer systems. Emerg Top Life Sci 2022; 6:593-607. [PMID: 36254846 DOI: 10.1042/etls20220057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Revised: 09/17/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Biology demonstrates meticulous ways to control biomaterials self-assemble into ordered and disordered structures to carry out necessary bioprocesses. Empowering the synthetic polymers to self-assemble like biomaterials is a hallmark of polymer physics studies. Unlike protein engineering, polymer science demystifies self-assembly by purposely embedding particular functional groups into the backbone of the polymer while isolating others. The polymer field has now entered an era of advancing materials design by mimicking nature to a very large extend. For example, we can make sequence-specific polymers to study highly ordered mesostructures similar to studying proteins, and use charged polymers to study liquid-liquid phase separation as in membraneless organelles. This mini-review summarizes recent advances in studying self-assembly using bio-inspired strategies on single-component and multi-component systems. Sequence-defined techniques are used to make on-demand hybrid materials to isolate the effects of chirality and chemistry in synthetic block copolymer self-assembly. In the meantime, sequence patterning leads to more hierarchical assemblies comprised of only hydrophobic and hydrophilic comonomers. The second half of the review discusses complex coacervates formed as a result of the associative charge interactions of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes. The tunable phase behavior and viscoelasticity are unique in studying liquid macrophase separation because the slow polymer relaxation comes primarily from charge interactions. Studies of bio-inspired polymer self-assembly significantly impact how we optimize user-defined materials on a molecular level.
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Blocher McTigue WC, Voke E, Chang LW, Perry SL. The benefit of poor mixing: kinetics of coacervation. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2020; 22:20643-20657. [PMID: 32895678 DOI: 10.1039/d0cp03224g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Complex coacervation has become a prominent area of research in the fields of food science, personal care, drug stabilization, and more. However, little has been reported on the kinetics of assembly of coacervation itself. Here, we describe a simple, low-cost way of looking at the kinetics of coacervation by creating poorly mixed samples. In particular, we examine how polymer chain length, the patterning and symmetry of charges on the oppositely charged polyelectrolytes, and the presence of salt and a zwitterionic buffer affect the kinetics of complex coacervation. Our results suggest an interesting relationship between the time for equilibration and the order of addition of polymers with asymmetric patterns of charge. Furthermore, we demonstrated that increasing polymer chain length resulted in a non-monotonic trend in the sample equilibration times as a result of opposing factors such as excluded volume and diffusion. We also observed differences in the rate of sample equilibration based on the presence of a neutral, zwitterionic buffer, as well as the presence and identity of added salt, consistent with previous reports of salt-specific effects on the rheology of complex coacervates. While not a replacement for more advanced characterization strategies, this turbidity-based method could serve as a screening tool to identify interesting and unique phenomena for further study.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Elizabeth Voke
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA.
| | - Li-Wei Chang
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA.
| | - Sarah L Perry
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA.
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