Nontoxic block copolymer nanospheres: design and characterization

Biodegradable polymers capable of self-assembly into hollow nanospheres of less than 100 nm have significant potential for biotechnology applications such as drug delivery and gene therapy. Here we describe the synthesis of a novel ABA-type triblock copolymer made from a hydrophobic tyrosine-derived core and two hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) end groups (poly(ethylene glycol)-block-oligo(desaminotyrosyltyrosine octyl ester suberate)-block-poly(ethylene glycol)). We describe the self-assembly of this triblock copolymer and characterize its particles as 100 nm size vesicular nanospheres. The vesicular nature of these particles was determined by light scattering and electron microscopy. The nanospheres did not exhibit any short-term cytotoxicity toward UMR-106 cells at a concentration up to 2 mg/mL.