Synthesis and properties of low-molecular-weight copolymers of acrylamide with 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid,as potential drug carriers

Nontoxic water-soluble low-molecular-weight (MW 14 000–36 000 Da) copolymers of acrylamide with 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid, containing from 17.3 to 37.6 mol % sulfonate-containing monomeric units, were synthesized by heterophase radical polymerization in isopropanol or ethanol at 50°C with azobis(isobutyronitrile) as an initiator. Original Russian Text M.V. Solovskii, M.Yu. Eropkin, E.M. Eropkina, A.V. Slita, M.Yu. Smirnova, E.N. Vlasova, E.B. Tarabukina, A.I. Amirova, 2007, published in Zhurnal Prikladnoi Khimii, 2007, Vol. 80, No. 10, pp. 1674–1678.     

Behavior of metal complexes of polyacrylic acid in solutions

Metal complexes of polyacrylic acid containing Li, Li, and Cu, or Li and Zn have been studied in saline aqueous solutions using molecular hydrodynamics and light scattering methods. Intrinsic viscosities, weight-average molar masses, hydrodynamic radii, and radii of gyration were obtained. It was shown that the macromolecules of polymetalloacrylates containing divalent metals form small and large supramolecular structures, their dimensions, and composition being dependent on the ionic strength of the solution.     

Synthesis and investigation of the solution behavior of graft block copolymers of polyimide and poly(methyl methacrylate)

Graft copolymers with a polyimide backbone and poly(methyl methacrylate) side chains are investigated in dilute chloroform and ethyl acetate solutions via the methods of molecular hydrodynamics and optics. Copolymer samples are prepared through the “grafting from” method via atom-transfer radical polymerization with a multicenter polyimide macroinitiator. In solutions of copolymers with low degrees of functionalization Z (40%), supermolecular structures are formed as a result of interactions between the polyimide backbones. In samples with Z → 100%, the backbone is well screened by side chains; therefore, molecular solutions are formed in both solvents. The hydrodynamic and conformational behavior of samples with high functionalization degrees changes after the transition from ethyl acetate to chloroform owing to the different thermodynamic qualities of the solvents with respect to the copolymer components. In both solvents, the backbone tends to avoid contact with a poor solvent. This effect is more pronounced in the case of ethyl acetate. Macromolecules of the studied graft copolymers are characterized by high equilibrium rigidities (>40 nm) that are 10 times higher than the corresponding characteristics of aromatic polyimides.     

Molecular and associative properties of <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-vinylpyrrolidone copolymers with <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-crotonoylaminocaproic acid in dilute solutions

The random copolymers of N-vinylpyrrolidone and N-crotonoylaminocaproic acid attractive for the modification of drugs are studied by static and dynamic light scattering, viscometry, and sedimentation-diffusion analysis. The content of functional groups in the copolymers is 14.1–27.0 mol %. Analysis is performed in 0.1 N aqueous solutions of sodium acetate and dimethylformamide. The molecular characteristics of the copolymers with various composition are determined. It is shown that supramolecular structures are present in copolymer solutions and their amount depends on copolymer composition; the effect of solvent on the formation of these structures is ascertained.     

Molecular Properties and Aggregation of Porphyrin-modified Polysiloxane in Solutions

Molecular properties and aggregation behavior of a polysiloxane with grafted side chain groups consisting of asymmetrical hydroxy-functionalized porphyrin were studied in dilute solutions. In order to understand the mechanism of aggregation of the polymeric porphyrin derivatives, several analyses of chloroform solutions were performed permitting comparison of the data obtained by means of different techniques. Molar mass and hydrodynamic size of the macromolecules were obtained using the methods of analytical ultracentrifugation, isothermal translational diffusion, and viscometry. Long distance interactions between macromolecules in dilute solutions were detected with static light scattering. With increasing the concentration of the solutions, the electronic and fluorescence spectra bands assigned to generation of H and J aggregates became apparent. The organization of aggregates, which seemed to be favored by chloroform, was visualized by atomic force microscopy images that displayed sponge-like morphology, small triangular particles, characteristic of H aggregates, and nano or micro-structured ring geometries obtained by the side-by-side J-process, coexisting together.     

Inclusion complexes of γ-cyclodextrin and carboxyl-modified γ-cyclodextrin with C60: synthesis, characterization and controlled release application via microgels

Carboxyl modified γ-cyclodextrin (CDSA) with a substitution degree of about 9.5 was prepared by the esterification of γ-cyclodextrin (CD) with succinic anhydride in pyridine at 90 °C. The chemical composition and the structure of CDSA were characterized by FT-IR, MALDI-TOF, X-ray diffraction pattern, potentiometric titration and TGA. Modified and native γ-cyclodextrin associate with fullerene (C₆₀) in DMF-toluene mixture resulting 1:1 CDSA:C₆₀ and CD:C₆₀ inclusion complexes. Aqueous solutions of native cyclodextrin, carboxyl-modified cyclodextrin and their inclusion complexes with C₆₀ were used as microgel solvent (or swelling agent) for controlled release application. The release of solutions was induced by shear stress and demonstrated using rheo-optical set-up.     

Structural and conformational properties of hyperbranched copolymers based on perfluorinated germanium hydrides

Two series of hyperbranched copolymers based on perfluorinated germanium hydrides of various topological structures are studied in dilute chloroform solutions by the methods of molecular hydrodynamics and optics. The first series is composed of copolymers with various molecular masses (from 2.3 × 10⁴ to 31 × 10⁴) that contain rigid linear chains between branching points and various amounts of branching points in cascades of the dendritic fragment, while the second series is comprised of copolymers that, at close branching degrees, on average, are characterized by a looser structure owing to a large amount of linear units at the periphery of macromolecules with M = (2.5 × 10⁴)?(23 × 10⁴). Macromolecules of the studied polymers have compact dimensions and a high density of the polymer substance; their shape asymmetry is low. In terms of these characteristics, they approach dendrimers. At a fixed molecular mass, the copolymers with a loose structure have higher dimensions of macromolecules and higher intrinsic viscosities.     

Synthesis and Properties of Soluble Copolymers of <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-Vinyl-2-pyrrolidone with 2-Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate

Features of radical copolymerization of N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate in the presence of azobis(isobutyronitrile) were studied. The copolymerization constants of these monomers were calculated. The structure of the resulting copolymer was confirmed. The composition, microstructure, and molecular-weight parameters of the copolymers were determined.__________Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Khimii, Vol. 78, No. 4, 2005, pp. 642–646.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Solovskii, Tarabukina, Shpyrkov, Denisov, Vlasova, Korchagin.     

Hyperbranched poly(L-lysine) modified with histidine residues via lysine terminal amino groups: Synthesis and structure

A method for preparing hyperbranched poly(L-lysine) via the polymerization of N^?-carbobenzoxy-L-lysine-N-carboxyanhydride has been developed in order to regulate the molecular mass and size of this polymer and to modify amino groups of its N-terminal lysine residues. This method includes the reductive removal of an N^?-carbobenzoxy group by hydrogen over activated palladium in the presence of a chain termination agent, which is the activated ether of N^α-tert-butyloxycarbonylhistidine. The structure of the polymers has been studied by capillary electrophoresis, circular dichroism, and molecular hydrodynamics.