Fluorinated derivatives of a polyaspartamide bearing polyethylene glycol chains as oxygen carriers

In this paper the synthesis and characterization of new fluorinated polymers based on a polyaspartamide bearing polyethylene glycol (PEG) chains, are reported. The starting material was the α,β-poly(N-2-hydroxyethyl)-dl-aspartamide (PHEA), a water soluble and biocompatible polymer, that has been derivatized with both polyethylene glycol (with a molecular weight of 2000 Da) and 5-pentafluorophenyl-3-perfluoroheptyl-1,2,4-oxadiazole. By varying the amount of the fluorinated oxadiazole, three samples have been prepared and characterized by FT-IR, ¹H NMR, ¹⁹F NMR and UV-VIS spectroscopy. Size exclusion chromatography analysis of these copolymers revealed the occurrence of a self-association process in aqueous medium. The value of critical aggregation concentration has been evaluated by performing a tensiometric study, whereas the size of these aggregates has been determined by photon correlation spectroscopy. Oxygen solubility studies in aqueous solutions of these fluoropolymers showed their ability to maintain high oxygen levels in solution. The biocompatibility of these fluoropolymers has been evaluated by performing an in vitro viability assay on human chronic myelogenous leukaemia cells (K-562), chosen as a model cell line, and haemolysis experiments on human red blood cells. All these properties suggest the potential use of these fluoropolymers as artificial oxygen carriers.