Reverse micelles of star-block copolymer as nanoreactors for preparation of gold nanoparticles

Pentaerythritol: A Versatile Substrate in Organic Transformations, Centralization on the Reaction Medium

BACKGROUND

Pentaerythritol (2,2-bis (hydroxymethyl) propane-1,3-diol) as white crystalline odorless solid has been synthesized in 1891. Pentaerythritol is multifaceted species in many compounds, which are wildly utilized in medicine and industry. Also, multicomponent reactions (MCRs) play a crucial role in organic and medicinal chemistry. Hence, in these reactions, pentaerythritol is a versatile substrate for the synthesis of many polyfunctionalized products, because of the presence of the neopentane core and one hydroxyl group in each of the four terminal carbons.

OBJECTIVE

The review describes pentaerythritol multicomponent reactions in the presence of different solvents in the reaction medium to produce various compounds including pentaerythritols. This review covers the literature relevant up to 2018.

CONCLUSION

It is obvious from the provided review that a great deal of research has been done in this field, utilizing various mediums (solvent-free conditions, aqueous media, and organic solvents) for the synthesis of the products of containing pentaerythritols. This classification is based on the importance of economic and environmental friendly reactions. Due to the whole aforesaid reports, some reactions required heat for their progress, and some others were accompanied by microwave or ultrasonic waves.

In situ synthesis of thermoresponsive 4-arm star block copolymer nano-assemblies by dispersion RAFT polymerization

Thermoresponsive 4-arm star block copolymer nano-assemblies were synthesized, and their interesting thermoresponse was investigated.

Design of systems based on 4-armed star-shaped polyacids for indomethacin delivery

The pentaerythritol based star-shaped polyacids as micellar nanocarriers with adjustable characteristics for drug delivery have been investigated.

Self-assemblies of the six-armed star triblock ABC copolymer: pH-tunable morphologies and drug release

A well-defined six-armed star triblock copolymer s-(PDEA₆₂-b-PMMA₁₉₅-b-PPEGMA₄₇)₆ was synthesized by the core-first ATRP method. The star triblock copolymer shows pH-tunable self-assembly behavior. Interestingly, the reversible vesicle–micelle transition could be achieved by simply adjusting the surrounding pH.

Crafting threads of diblock copolymer micelles via flow-enabled self-assembly

Hierarchically assembled amphiphilic diblock copolymer micelles were exquisitely crafted over large areas by capitalizing on two concurrent self-assembling processes at different length scales, namely, the periodic threads composed of a monolayer or a bilayer of diblock copolymer micelles precisely positioned by flow-enabled self-assembly (FESA) on the microscopic scale and the self-assembly of amphiphilic diblock copolymer micelles into ordered arrays within an individual thread on the nanometer scale. A minimum spacing between two adjacent threads λmin was observed. A model was proposed to rationalize the relationship between the thread width and λmin. Such FESA of diblock copolymer micelles is remarkably controllable and easy to implement. It opens up possibilities for lithography-free positioning and patterning of diblock copolymer micelles for various applications in template fabrication of periodic inorganic nanostructures, nanoelectronics, optoelectronics, magnetic devices, and biotechnology.

Nanoparticle assembly of a photo- and pH-responsive random azobenzene copolymer

Stimuli-responsive polymeric nanoparticles with a core of hydrophobic azobenzene-containing acrylate units and a shell of hydrophilic acrylic acid units were prepared from a novel photo- and pH-responsive amphiphilic random azobenzene copolymer. Upon UV light irradiation, the trans azobenzene changed to the cis form and thus the water contact angle and the absorption of water on the polymer film could be changed, while little effect was exerted on the morphology of the nanoparticles although the polarity of the core of nanoparticles increased. Adjusting pH of the nanoparticle solution could exert a strong effect on the morphology of the nanoparticles. The prime nanoparticles (pH 6) changed to nanoparticle aggregates at pH 3, and to swollen nanoparticles at pH 11. The controlled release of Nile Red from the nanoparticles under the stimuli was demonstrated.

Thermosensitive poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide-co-N,N-dimethyl acryl amide)-block-poly(d,l-lactide) amphiphilic block copolymer micelles for prednisone drug release

Novel amphiphilic block copolymers consisting of hydrophobic poly(D,L-lactide) segments and hydrophilic poly( N-isopropylacrylamide- co- N, N-dimethylacrylamide) blocks were designed and synthesized through a simple free radical copolymerization route based on a bifunctional initiator, followed by the ring-opening polymerization of D,L-lactide. The copolymers self-assembled into thermosensitive spherical-nanosized core–shell micelles in aqueous solution in the presence or the absence of the model drug prednisone. The chemical and physical characterizations of drug-loaded and unloaded micelles revealed a lower critical solution temperature of 40°C–47°C, and a critical micelle concentration less than 7.20 mg L−1, a transmission electron microscope mean particle size from 50 to 75 nm, and a narrow dynamic light scattering diameter below 180 nm. The prepared blank and drug-loaded micellar nanoparticles were thermodynamically stabile and employed in targeted drug delivery by responding to the higher temperature of the local microenvironment. Based on prednisone release kinetic studies, structural changes of the self-assembled micelles as well as temperature- or environment-induced diffusion controlled drug release and improved bioavailability. The copolymer micelles exhibited good biocompatibility as established by the MTT cytotoxicity assay. Therefore, an effective target therapy against lesion tissues is feasible using these polymeric micelles.

In vitro evaluation of the L-peptide modified magnetic lipid nanoparticles as targeted magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent for the nasopharyngeal cancer

The purpose of this study was to analyze the encapsulation of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION) by the lipid nanoparticle conjugated with the 12-mer peptides (RLLDTNRPLLPY, L-peptide), and the delivery of this complex into living cells. The lipid nanoparticles employed in this work were highly hydrophilic, stable, and contained poly(ethylene-glycol) for conjugation to the bioactive L-peptide. The particle sizes of two different magnetic lipid nanoparticles, L-peptide modified (LML) and non-L-peptide modified (ML), were both around 170 nm with a narrow range of size disparity. The transversal relaxivity, r2, for both LML and ML nanoparticles were found to be significantly higher than the longitudinal relaxivity r1 (r2/r1 > 20). The in vitro tumor cell targeting efficacy of the LML nanoparticles were evaluated and compared to the ML nanoparticles, upon observing cellular uptake of magnetic lipid nanoparticles by the nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells, which express cell surface specific protein for the L-peptide binding revealed. In the Prussian blue staining experiment, cells incubated with LML nanoparticles indicated much higher intracellular iron density than cells incubated with only the ML and SPION nanoparticles. In addition, the MTT assay showed the negligible cell cytotoxicity for LML, ML and SPION nanoparticles. The MR imaging studies demonstrate the better T2-weighted images for the LML-nanoparticle-loaded nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells than the ML- and SPION-loaded cells.

Fluorescent magnetic nanoparticles with specific targeting functions for combinded targeting, optical imaging and magnetic resonance imaging

Superparamagnetic iron oxides nanoparticles possess specific magnetic properties to be an efficient contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to enhance the detection and characterization of tissue lesions within the body. To endow specific properties to nanoparticles that can target cancer cells and prevent recognition by the reticuloendothelial system (RES), the surface of the nanoparticles was modified with folic-acid-conjugated poly(ethylene glycol) (FA-PEG). In this study, we investigated the multifunctional fluorescent magnetic nanoparticles (IOPFC) that can specifically target cancer cells and be monitored by both MRI and optical imaging. IOPFC consists of an iron oxide superparamagnetic nanoparticle conjugated with a layer of PEG, which was terminal modified with either Cypher5E or folic acid molecules. The core sizes of IOPFC nanoparticles are around 10 nm, which were visualized by transmission electron microscope (TEM). The hysteresis curves, generated with superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer analysis, demonstrated that IOPFC nanoparticles are superparamagnetic with insignificant hysteresis. IOPFC displays higher intracellular uptake into KB and MDA-MB-231 cells due to the over-expressed folate receptor. This result is confirmed by laser confocal scanning microscopy (LCSM) and atomic flow cytometry. Both in vitro and in vivo MRI studies show better IOPFC uptake by the KB cells (folate positive) than the HT1080 cells (folate negative) and, hence, stronger T 2-weighted signals enhancement. The in vivo fluorescent image recorded at 20 min post injection show strong fluorescence from IOPFC which can be observed around the tumor region. This multifunctional nanoparticle can assess the potential application of developing a magnetic nanoparticle system that combines tumor targeting, as well as MRI and optical imaging.

Paclitaxel and iron oxide loaded multifunctional nanoparticles for chemotherapy, fluorescence properties, and magnetic resonance imaging

The multifunctional nanoparticles constructed from triphenylamine-poly(lactide-co-glycolide)-poly(ethyleneglycol)-poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (TPA-PEP) and folate-poly(2-ethyl-2oxazoline)-poly(D,L-lactide) (folate-PEOz-PLA) were developed in this study. Iron oxide nanoparticles (IOP) and paclitaxel (PTX) were coencapsulated in the nanoparticles with diameter less than 200 nm. The drug-loaded nanoparticles emit fluorescence peak at 460 nm when excited with wavelength of 350 nm. The in vitro antitumor activity of the drug-loaded nanoparticles was assessed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays against HeLa cells. When the cells were exposed to the nanoparticles with different levels of folate but the same drug loading, cell viability decreases as the level of folate increases. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) analysis shows that cellular uptake is lower for the non-folate-nanoparticles than that for the folate-nanoparticles. The in vitro and in vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies indicate the better T2-Weighted images can be obtained for the folate-nanoparticles. In the anticancer effect evaluation, tumor-bearing mice administered with the 30%-folate-nanoparticles showed ~50% reduction in tumor volume after 23 days. The multifunctional nanoparticles as drug carrier with capabilities of both tumor-targeting and MRI present a new direction in drug delivery system development.

Core-shell-corona au-micelle composites with a tunable smart hybrid shell

Micelles having a core of polystyrene and a mixed shell of poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(4-vinylpyridine) were formed through self-assembly of a triblock copolymer poly(ethylene glycol)- block-polystyrene- block-poly(4-vinylpyridine) in acidic water (pH 2). Reducing the HAuCl(4)-treated micelle solution leads to the formation of the Au-micelle composites with a core of polystyrene, a hybrid shell of poly(4-vinylpyridine)/Au/poly(ethylene glycol), and a corona of poly(ethylene glycol). The gold nanoparticles with controlled sizes were anchored to poly(4-vinylpyridine) to form the physically cross-linked hybrid shell. In aqueous solution, the hybrid shell is swollen and the swollen degree is sensitive to the pH condition. Under basic conditions, the channel in the hybrid shells of the composite is produced, which renders the composites a good catalytic activity. In addition, the composites also show good stability, unchanged hydrodynamic diameter, and surface plasmon absorption under different pH conditions.