Properties and Bioapplications of Amphiphilic Janus Dendrimers: A Review

Amphiphilic Janus dendrimers are arrangements containing both hydrophilic and hydrophobic units, capable of forming ordered aggregates by intermolecular noncovalent interactions between the dendrimer units. Compared to conventional dendrimers, these molecular self-assemblies possess particular and effective attributes i.e., the presence of different terminal groups, essential to design new elaborated materials. The present review will focus on the pharmaceutical and biomedical application of amphiphilic Janus dendrimers. Important information for the development of novel optimized pharmaceutical formulations, such as structural classification, synthetic pathways, properties and applications, will offer the complete characterization of this type of Janus dendrimers. This work will constitute an up-to-date background for dendrimer specialists involved in designing amphiphilic Janus dendrimer-based nanomaterials for future innovations in this promising field.

Recent Advances in Drug Delivery System Fabricated by Microfluidics for Disease Therapy

Traditional drug therapy faces challenges such as drug distribution throughout the body, rapid degradation and excretion, and extensive adverse reactions. In contrast, micro/nanoparticles can controllably deliver drugs to target sites to improve drug efficacy. Unlike traditional large-scale synthetic systems, microfluidics allows manipulation of fluids at the microscale and shows great potential in drug delivery and precision medicine. Well-designed microfluidic devices have been used to fabricate multifunctional drug carriers using stimuli-responsive materials. In this review, we first introduce the selection of materials and processing techniques for microfluidic devices. Then, various well-designed microfluidic chips are shown for the fabrication of multifunctional micro/nanoparticles as drug delivery vehicles. Finally, we describe the interaction of drugs with lymphatic vessels that are neglected in organs-on-chips. Overall, the accelerated development of microfluidics holds great potential for the clinical translation of micro/nanoparticle drug delivery systems for disease treatment.

ROMP Synthesis of Side-Chain Ferrocene-Containing Polyelectrolyte and Its Redox-Responsive Hydrogels Showing Dramatically Improved Swelling with β-Cyclodextrin

A new side-chain ferrocene (Fc)-containing polyelectrolyte has been synthesized by controlled ring-opening metathesis polymerization of a water-soluble Fc-containing norbornene-based quaternary ammonium salt, as well as the corresponding covalently cross-linked polyelectrolyte hydrogel. In order to provide Fc-containing supramolecular polyelectrolyte hydrogels whose swelling property is largely improved by host-guest interaction, a covalently cross-linked polyelectrolyte hydrogel is soaked into the β-CD aqueous solution to form β-CD@Fc supramolecular polyelectrolyte hydrogel, or alternatively the quaternary ammonium salt supramolecular monomer is first formed, then copolymerized with a crosslinking agent to fabricate the supramolecular hydrogel with better water absorption ability. All the Fc-containing hydrogels exhibited good redox-responsiveness with swelling-shrinking behaviors by chemically reversibly adjusting the disassembly/assembly of β-CD@Fc inclusion complexes. This is the first example of side-chain Fc-containing polycationic supramolecular hydrogels possessing swelling-shrinking properties based on the splitting/combining of β-CD and Fc units, and potential applications are expected as controlled drug delivery and actuators.

Model-based design and synthesis of ferrocene containing microgels

Modelling and synthesis go hand in hand to efficiently engineer copolymer microgels with various architectures: core–shell structures (with ferrocene mainly in the core or in the shell) and also microgels with homogeneous comonomer distribution.

Synthesis and characterization of ureido-derivatized UCST-type poly(ionic liquid) microgels

Ureido-derivatized poly(ionic liquid) microgels, which possess an upper critical solution temperature and can be used in catalytic esterification, are synthesized.

Synthesis and characterization of CO2-sensitive temperature-responsive catalytic poly(ionic liquid) microgels

A class of poly(ionic liquid) microgels exhibiting CO₂-switchable temperature-responsive volume phase transition behavior have been synthesized and used for CO₂ fixation.

Continuous fabrication of microcapsules with controllable metal covered nanoparticle arrays using droplet microfluidics for localized surface plasmon resonance

The construction of ordered nanoparticle arrays is important for nanophotonics and sensing applications. We report a facile technology for continuous-flow fabrication of particle-laden plasmonic microcapsules (PLPMs) by combining droplet microfluidics, nanoparticle self-assembly and thin film deposition. The metallic hierarchical nanostructures on PLPMs are presented with high-density "hot-spot" scattering sites with the nanoarray pitch and gap distance being controlled by the deposited metal film thickness and nanoparticle size. The noble metal "hot-spots" show high, localized surface plasmon resonance according to the near-field electromagnetic field enhancement. Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) analytical enhancement factors of >10⁷ can be obtained with good reproducibility using 4-methylbenzenethiol (4-MBT) as a probe molecule and Au or Ag as the metal layer. The droplet microfluidics platform enables continuous generation of homogeneous microcapsules with high frequency. This proposed strategy therefore combines advantages from both top-down (creation of microdroplets and deposition of the metal film) and bottom-up (self-assembly of nanoparticles) processes with flexibility in material selection (nanoparticles and polymer) and structure scaling (metal layer thickness, nanoparticle size and microcapsule size). Therefore, it provides a fast and reliable method of producing plasmonic microsensors.

Synthesis and characterization of responsive poly(anionic liquid) microgels

Responsive poly(anionic liquid) microgels are synthesized by polymerization of tetrabutylphosphonium 4-styrenesulfonate, which can be further functionalized to harness catalytic properties.

Polyferrocenylsilanes: synthesis, properties, and applications

This comprehensive review covers polyferrocenylsilanes (PFSs), a well-established, readily accessible class of main chain organosilicon metallopolymer. The focus is on the recent advances involving PFS homopolymers and block copolymers and the article covers the synthesis, properties, and applications of these fascinating materials.

Redox-responsive organometallic hydrogels for in situ metal nanoparticle synthesis

A new class of redox active hydrogels composed of poly(ferrocenylsilane) polyanion and poly(ethylene glycol) chains was assembled, using a copper-free azide-alkyne Huisgen cycloaddition reaction. These organometallic hydrogels displayed reversible collapse and reswelling upon chemical oxidation and reduction, respectively, and formed relatively well-defined, unaggregated Pd(0) nanoparticles (8.2 ± 2.2 nm) from K2PdCl4 salts.