3D-Printed Phenacrylate Decarboxylase Flow Reactors for the Chemoenzymatic Synthesis of 4-Hydroxystilbene

Continuous flow systems for chemical synthesis are becoming a major focus in organic chemistry and there is a growing interest in the integration of biocatalysts due to their high regio- and stereoselectivity. Methods established for 3D bioprinting enable the fast and simple production of agarose-based modules for biocatalytic reactors if thermally stable enzymes are available. We report here on the characterization of four different cofactor-free phenacrylate decarboxylase enzymes suitable for the production of 4-vinylphenol and test their applicability for the encapsulation and direct 3D printing of disk-shaped agarose-based modules that can be used for compartmentalized flow microreactors. Using the most active and stable phenacrylate decarboxylase from Enterobacter spec. in a setup with four parallel reactors and a subsequent palladium(II) acetate-catalysed Heck reaction, 4-hydroxystilbene was synthesized from p-coumaric acid with a total yield of 14.7 % on a milligram scale. We believe that, due to the convenient direct immobilization of any thermostable enzyme and straightforward tuning of the reaction sequence by stacking of modules with different catalytic activities, this simple process will facilitate the establishment and use of cascade reactions and will therefore be of great advantage for many research approaches.     

Ultrastretchable and conductive core/sheath hydrogel fibers with multifunctionality

Conductive hydrogels with ionic compounds possess great potential for the development of soft smart devices. A dielectric scarfskin is typically required for these devices to prevent short circuiting, leading to devices with lower stretchability than the hydrogel. Henceforth, commonly used dielectric materials, such as PDMS and Ecoflex, cannot be largely stretched. Hydrogel devices with ultrastretchability are required to accommodate hostile application environments. Herein, we propose a hydrogel fiber coated with a dielectric layer that can be stretched to over 2000% of its initial length. The fiber remains conductive when stretched to ~1300%. In addition, the core/sheath hydrogel fiber can be endowed with a variety of functional properties, such as electroluminescence (EL), photoluminescence (PL), and magnetic‐responsiveness, demonstrating scalability of the resultant fiber. The present work can pave the way for numerous next‐generation soft devices, such as smart textiles and wearable electronics. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019 , 57, 272–280     

Molecularly imprinted hydrogels for sustained release of sunitinib in breast cancer therapy

The present work reports on the synthesis of a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) based on methacrylic acid and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate for sunitinib delivery. Sunitinib (SUT) is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor used in many cancer diseases. Like the majority of the anticancer drugs, SUT suffers of a low bioavailability, and at the same time, it is characterized by a narrow therapeutic window. In order to reduce drug systemic toxicity, we synthesized a MIP‐based drug delivery system for SUT‐controlled release. MIP was obtained by bulk polymerization through the so‐called noncovalent approach. Rebinding experiments were performed to evaluate the success of the imprinting process and the ability of MIP to bind in a specific and selective fashion the template molecule. Resulting data showed that sunitinib rebinding percentage was 70%, while nonimprinted polymer (NIP) rebinding percentage was 46%. A not significant difference was observed between MIP and NIP in semaxanib binding experiments. Moreover, the drug release profiles were studied for both MIP and NIP. A sustained release was observed from sunitinib‐loaded MIP during 24 hours, reaching 58% after 6 hours and 76% at the end‐point. NIP, on the contrary, released almost 90% of the loaded drug within 6 hours. Furthermore, the drug carrier was tested in vitro against MCF‐7 cells, in which the cytotoxic effect of sunitinib released from MIP reached the maximum after 72 hours, while NIP completed its effect within 48 hours. These results demonstrated that molecularly imprinted polymers are suitable systems for SUT release.     

Increasing the hydrophilicity of star‐shaped amphiphilic co‐networks by using of PEG and dendritic s‐PCL cross‐linkers

New hyperbranched hydrophobic cross‐linkers with peripheral azide groups were synthesized as follows: First, star‐shaped polycaprolactones (sPCL) were synthesized by ring‐opening polymerization of caprolactone in the presence of pentaerythritol and tin (II) octoate. In the next step, sequential acrylation, Micheal addition, tosylation, and azidation by acryloyl chloride, diethanol amine, tosyl chloride, and sodium azide were respectively exploited to synthesize azide‐functionalized hyperbranched star‐shaped polycaprolactones which were named sPCL‐acrylate‐diethanolamine‐azide (sPCL‐AC‐DEA‐N₃) and sPCL‐acrylate‐diethanolamine‐acrylate‐diethanolamine‐azide (sPCL‐AC‐DEA‐AC‐N₃). All steps were thoroughly characterized by FT‐IR and ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The GPC analysis showed that the molecular weight of sPCL increased after two azide functionalizations. Amphiphilic hydrogels based on sPCL‐AC‐DEA‐N₃ (M_n = 8130 g/mol) and sPCL‐AC‐DEA‐AC‐N₃ (M_n = 10112 g/mol) with linear alkyne‐terminated polyethylene glycols (PEG) (M_n = 2000, 4000, and 6000 g/mol) were synthesized through click coupling between azide and alkyne groups. In both hydrogels, the swelling ratio increased by increasing the molecular weight of PEG. The obtained results showed that the branching of the cross‐linker, significantly affected the swelling ratio of hydrogels. For instance, the swelling ratio of sPCL‐AC‐DEA‐AC‐N₃ and PEG‐6000 (Q = 900) was higher than sPCL‐AC‐DEA‐N₃ and PEG‐6000 (Q = 600). Despite the high cross‐linking density of sPCL‐AC‐DEA‐AC‐DEA‐N₃–based hydrogels, the amount of released theophylline was higher than sPCL‐AC‐DEA‐N₃–based hydrogels, due to the high content of PEG in these hydrogels.     

丝胶基半互穿温敏凝胶的合成及其溶胀行为的研究

采用半互穿网络技术, 将具有生物相容性的丝胶蛋白(silk sericin)作为第二网络进入聚(N-异丙基丙烯酰胺)(PNIPAM)水凝胶网络中, 在水溶液中制备得到具有半互穿网络结构的丝胶基温敏水凝胶(SS/PNIPAM semi-IPNs). 采用称重法研究了产物的(消)溶胀、温度敏感性、最大溶胀度及脉冲响应行为; 利用扫描电镜(SEM), 差示扫描量热仪(DSC)和动态热机械分析仪(DMA)分别考察了产物的内部形态、热相转变行为和其储能模量随温度的变化. 结果表明: 具有较高亲水性的丝胶蛋白的引入增大了semi-IPNs水凝胶的内部孔径, 导致SS/PNIPAM半互穿水凝胶的溶胀度增加, 并且其储能模量随温度变化更明显. 相比于纯PNIPAM水凝胶, 半互穿水凝胶的消溶胀速率和低临界溶解温度(LCST)变化不大.     

Thermodynamics of phase equilibrium for systems containing N-isopropyl acrylamide hydrogels

Hydrogels are crosslinked polymers of hydrophilic monomers. Hydrogels can swell and shrink in aqueous solutions. The swelling behavior of hydrogels and the encountered phase behavior are of interest in many areas, e.g., in biotechnology, membrane science and controlled drug release. This contribution presents the criteria for such phase equilibria and a previously developed thermodynamic model for correlating/predicting the swelling and shrinking of hydrogels. The application of the method is demonstrated by describing the swelling equilibrium of some synthetic, non-ionic N-isopropyl acrylamide (N-IPAAm) hydrogels in aqueous solutions of sodium chloride at 298 K. Furthermore, new experimental results are presented for the degree of swelling of synthetic hydrogels that contain – besides the non-ionic monomer N-IPAAm – either a combination of a cationic comonomer (here, N-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]methacrylamide (DMAPMA)) and an anionic comonomer (here, 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS)) or a zwitterionic comonomer (here, [3-(methacryloylamino)propyl]dimethyl(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium hydroxide inner salt (MPSA)). These gels were equilibrated with aqueous solutions of sodium chloride at 298 K.     

Hydrogel networks of poly(ethylene oxide) star-molecules supported by expanded polytetrafluoroethylene membranes: characterization, biocompatibility evaluation and glucose diffusion characteristics

The present work discusses the grafting by electron beam irradiation of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) star-shaped polymers onto porous expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (EXPTFE) surfaces. The resulting materials are intended to combine the good biocompatible properties of PEO with the outstanding mechanical properties of PTFE. The star-shaped PEOs were synthesized via anionic polymerization. 3 Mev electron beam irradiation was applied to graft these PEO stars onto porous EXPTFE surfaces. The hydrophobic EXPTFE surface had to be pre-modified with N-vinylpyrrolidone. ESCA was used to quantify the amount of grafted star-shaped PEO. Unmodified EXPTFE surfaces are well known, when implanted in a body, to be rapidly covered by a layer of cells and fibrin. The EXPTFE coated with PEO were implanted in the peritoneal cavity of rats (or under the back skin). This implantation did not induce any inflammation reactions and SEM analysis had attested the absence of adsorbed cells and fibrin. The glucose diffusion properties of these membranes were studied by a lag time analysis method and compared to those of pure PEO hydrogels. As expected, glucose diffuses through the hydrogel coated membrane and diffusion is not affected by the presence of the EXPTFE membrane.     

Modified carrageenan. 5. Preparation,swelling behavior,salt‐ and pH‐sensitivity of partially hydrolyzed crosslinked carrageenan‐graft‐polymethacrylamide superabsorbent hydrogel

The polysaccharide, kappa‐carrageenan (κC) was chemically modified to achieve a novel superabsorbent hydrogel via graft copolymerization of methacrylamide (MAM) onto the substrate followed by alkaline hydrolysis. Ammonium persulfate (APS) and N,N′‐methylene bisacrylamide (MBA) were used as a free‐radical initiator and a crosslinker, respectively. The saponification reaction was carried out using sodium hydroxide aqueous solution. Either κC‐g‐PMAM or hydrolyzed κC‐g‐PMAM (PMAM: polymethacrylamide) was characterized by FT‐IR spectroscopy. The effect of grafting variables (i.e. concentration of MBA, MAM, and APS) and alkaline hydrolysis conditions (i.e. NaOH concentration, hydrolysis time and temperature) were systematically optimized to achieve a hydrogel with swelling capacity as high as possible. The swelling capacity of these hydrogels was also measured in various salt solutions. Results indicated that the swelling ratios decreased with an increase in the ionic strength of the salt solutions. This behavior can be attributed to charge screening effect for monovalent cations, as well as ionic crosslinking for multivalent cations. Absorbency of superabsorbing hydrogels was examined in buffer solutions with pH range 1–13. Also, the pH reversibility and on–off switching behavior, at pH values 3.0 and 8.0, makes the synthesized hydrogels good candidates for controlled delivery of bioactive agents. Finally, swelling kinetics in distilled water and various salt solutions was preliminary investigated. Results showed that the swelling in water was faster than in saline solutions. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.