Abstract
Biodegradable ultra-pH sensitive (UPS) copolymers were prepared in the presence of a cyclic ketene acetal, 2-methylene-4-phenyl-1,3-dioxolane (MPDL), as a comonomer for the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of acrylic monomers. Due to the incorporation of ester linkages in the polymer backbone, the new nanoprobes were prone to hydrolysis and can be degraded into non-cytotoxic compounds. Meantime, with a number of ionizable tertiary amine side groups, the synthesized block copolymers displayed varied hydrophilicity at different pHs. A slight pH decrease could lead to a rapid dissociation of the micelles into unimers, resulting in the release of entrapped drug or the activation of suppressed fluorophores. The detailed polymer synthesis, ultra-pH sensitivity and degradation of the new UPS nanoprobes will be discussed in this study. Keywords : ultra-pH sensitive, micelle, tumour imaging, drug delivery, degradation, cyclic ketene acetal, ATRP.
Published Version
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