In this thesis, I used a two-phase gas-liquid segmented microfluidic platform to synthesize drug-loaded block copolymer nanoparticles. In Chapter 2 and 3, the anti-cancer drug 7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin (SN-38) was physically encapsulated in poly(6-methyl-caprolactone-co-ε-caprolactone)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (P(MCL-co-CL)-b-PEO) nanoparticles with various drug-to-polymer loading ratios, under different flow conditions. The effects of chemical and flow conditions on the size, morphology, drug loading efficiency, in vitro release and cytotoxicity of the nanoparticles were determined. For various loading ratios, the intermediate total flow rate (Q = 200 µL/min) produced the smallest nanoparticle sizes and pure spheres. The various nanoparticle preparation conditions showed flow-variable release rates and cytotoxicities against MCF-7 cancer cell line. Specifically, we found that release half times of SN-38 from the nanoparticles were from τ1/2 = 0.8 to 3.3 h as the total flow rate increased from Q = 50 to 200 µL/min. We also found that most conditions of SN-38 formulations generated stronger cytotoxicity than free SN-38. As well, at short and intermediate incubation time (48 and 72 h), the cytotoxic potency of microfluidic nanoparticles prepared at Q = 200 µL/min were slightly higher than nanoparticles prepared using a conventional bulk method, while potencies of microfluidic nanoparticles prepared at higher and lower flow rates were slightly lower than the bulk control. In Chapter 4, in order to pursue even higher shear rate and increased throughput, we switched the microfabrication material to silicon/glass from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) used in earlier chapters, maintaining the gas-liquid microfluidic reactor design. A comparison between the two microfluidic reactor materials at constant liquid flow rate showed that channel material affected both flow behaviour and the resulting nanoparticle morphologies. A new, single-phase microfluidic strategy was also proposed in order to generate high shear, in which variable high and low shear would arise from periodic changes in channel dimensions. However, issues regarding clogging of the more narrow microchannels require future work of improvements in either reactor design or the microfabrication process. / Graduate / 2019-01-12

In industry the effective mixing and de-agglomeration of two solid particles is vital in applications that require the intimate contact of homogeneously mixed reagents. One such application is in the preparation of pyrotechnic delay elements with reproducible burn speeds. The concept of surfactant assisted particle micro-mixing is proposed. This theory is based in the use of two amphiphilic polymeric surfactants to form two separate stable dispersions of the two solid particles to be mixed, but with the subsequent requirement that the dispersants are able to interact with each other. The formation of the individual dispersions allows for the deagglomeration of the particles and thus their preparation for homogeneous mixing, which is facilitated by the interacting surfactants. Low molecular mass block copolymers of styrene and acrylic acid and poly( ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide) (PEO-PPO) surfactants are the proposed dispersants which will allow for the surfactant interaction by means of hydrogen bonding between the poly(acrylic acid) block and the PEO. The poly(styrene-co-acrylic acid) block copolymer will be synthesised via Atom Transfer Radical Polymerisation (ATRP) and subsequently used in the dispersion experiments. The synthesis of the polystyrene macroinitiators to initiate the block copolymerisation of the t-butyl acrylate was carried out satisfactorily, with good molecular masses and molecular mass distributions. In addition, lH-NMR analysis carried out on the polystyrene macroinitiators confirmed their synthesis. The use of the polystyrene macroinitiators was successful in synthesising poly(styrene-co-t-butyl acrylate) block copolymers with slightly higher polydispersities in comparison to the macroinitiatiators themselves, but acceptable. Hydrolysis of the poly(styrene-co-t-butyl acrylate) block copolymer to poly(styrene-co-acrylic acid) was successful in the presence of trifluoroacetic acid as catalyst. Attempts to hydrolyse in basic conditions (NaOH) and alternatively in acidic conditions (HCI) were not successful. Use of the poly(styrene-co-acrylic acid) amphiphilic block copolymer to emulsion polymerise styrene requires the ionised form of the polymer and was therefore not favourable to observe surfactant-surfactant hydrogen bonding. In addition, attempts to synthesise a wax emulsion stabilised by a PEO containing surfactant proved to be unsuccessful. Subsequently, the micro-mixing experiments were carried out by using a poly(acrylic acid) stabilised melamine dispersion and a commercially available PEO containing surfactant stabilised wax emulsion. The interaction between the melamine and the poly(acrylic acid) allows for the formation of a stable melamine dispersion at above 7% poly(acrylic acid) : melamine ratio (mass basis). Analysis by SEM shows that without the poly( acrylic acid) dispersant no wax particles are found to occur on the melamine particle surface. However, in an attempt to determine whether the amount of wax interaction increases with poly(acrylic acid) content, it was found that in the absence of poly(acrylic acid) dispersant, the most amount of wax precipitated out with the melamine. This is possibly attributable to the preferential occlusion of the wax particles between the melamine particles rather than surface attachment. Introduction of the poly(acrylic acid), however, shows via SEM analysis that the hydrogen bond interaction between the acrylic acid group and the ethylene oxide group does occur, since the attachment of the wax particles on the melamine particle surface is observed. Although results show that the surfactant-surfactant interaction allows for the micro¬mixing of particles, some refinement is required with respect to the systems that this phenomenon can be applied to. In addition, factors such as particle type, particle size and surfactant type will influence the micro-mixing interaction. It is therefore recommended that these factors be investigated in order to completely identify the micro-mixing phenomenon. / Dissertation (M Eng (Chemical Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Chemical Engineering / unrestricted

Předložená diplomová práce se zabývá přípravou hydrogelů odvozených od polyakrylonitrilu a charakterizací jejich fyzikálních a chemických vlastností. Teoretická část shrnuje základní poznatky z oblasti hydrogelů, a také o polyakrylonitrilu. Dále se zabývá možností zpracování polyakrylonitrilu do reaktivní formy, takzvaného aquagelu a jeho zásadité hydrolýzy za účelem přípravy multi-blokových kopolymerů schopných tvořit 3D síť (gel). Experimentální část prezentuje výsledky charakterizace hydrogelů z polyakrylonitrilu neboli HYPANů, které byly připraveny bazicky katalyzovanou hydrolýzou aquagelu. Aquagel byl připraven rozpuštěním a následnou extruzí polyakrylonitrilu. Vzniklé vlákno bylo zpracováno do formy pelet, které byly dále užity pro zmiňovanou hydrolýzu. Hydrolýza byla prováděna za různých podmínek (teplota, NaOH koncentrace, reakční čas) za účelem přípravy produktů s různým stupněm konverze -CN skupiny. Hydrolýzou vytvořené hydrofóbní a hydrofilní bloky, mohou zformovat 3D síť o různých vlastnostech, závisejících na poměru mezi počtem a délkou bloků. Z hydrolyzátů byly připraveny hydrogely jejichž visko-elastické a optické vlastnosti byly dále charakterizovány. Optimalizací přípravy bylo dozaženo multi-blokového kopolymeru schopného vytvořit gel s vhodnými fyzikálními vlastnostmi. Tento gel může najít uplatnění v medicíně, například jako implantáty v oftamologii.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第22471号 / 工博第4732号 / 新制||工||1739(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院工学研究科高分子化学専攻 / (主査)教授 秋吉 一成, 教授 大内 誠, 准教授 松岡 秀樹 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DFAM

Polymer nanoparticles (PNPs) that exhibit selective stimuli-responsive degradation and drug release at tumor sites are promising candidates in the development of smart nanomedicines. In this thesis, we demonstrate a microfluidic approach to manufacturing biological stimuli-responsive PNPs with flow-tunable physicochemical and pharmacological properties. The investigated PNPs contain cleavable disulfide linkages in two different locations (core and interface, DualM PNPs) exhibiting responsivity to elevated levels of glutathione (GSH), such as those found within cancerous cells. First, we conduct a mechanistic study on the microfluidic formation of DualM PNPs without encapsulated drug. We show that physicochemical properties, including size, morphology, and internal structure, of DualM PNPs are tunable with manufacturing flow rate. Microfluidic formation of DualM PNPs is explained by the interplay of shear-induced coalescence, shear-induced breakup, and intraparticle chain rearrangements. In addition, we demonstrate that rates of GSH-triggered changes in size and internal structure are linearly correlated with initial PNP sizes and internal structures, respectively. Next, we expand our study to focus on microfluidic control of pharmacological properties of DualM PNPs containing either an anticancer drug (paclitaxel, PAX-PNPs) or a fluorescent drug surrogate (DiI-PNPs). Microfluidic PAX-PNPs and DiI-PNPs show similar sizes and morphologies with their non-drug-loaded counterparts under the same flow conditions. We then show that pharmacological properties of DualM PNPs, including encapsulation efficiency, GSH-triggered release rate, cell uptake, cytotoxicity against MCF-7 (cancerous) and HaCaT (healthy), and relative difference in MCF-7 and HaCaT cytotoxicity, all increase linearly as flow-directed PNP size decreases, providing remarkably simple process-structure-property relationships. In addition, we show that microfluidic manufacturing improves encapsulation homogeneities within PNPs relative to bulk nanoprecipitation. These results highlight the potential of flow-directed shear processing in microfluidics for providing controlled manufacturing routes to biological stimuli-responsive nanomedicines optimized for specific therapeutic applications. Finally, we summarize various design strategies of biological stimuli-responsive PNPs. We show that the location and density of disulfide linkages within PNPs determines stimulus-triggered degradation mechanism and kinetics. In addition, we show various bottom-up approaches to tune PNP responsivities that involves chemical processing, including formulation chemistry and intramolecular forces. Along with the top-down microfluidic approach that we demonstrate experimentally, this chapter provides a more comprehensive understanding of process-structure-property relations opening up vast possibilities for manufacturing smarter nanomedicines. / Graduate

La thèse présentée porte sur l’élaboration de nanoparticules polymères fonctionnalisées par le ligand SCH546738 afin de cibler le récepteur CXCR3 surexprimé sur les cellules cancéreuses. La synthèse des copolymères à blocs Poly(triméthylène carbonate)-b-Poly(éthylène glycol) (PTMCb- PEG) et PTMC-b-PEG-SCH546738, puis leurs auto-assemblages dans l’eau avec des pourcentages différents de l’un par rapport à l’autre et enfin l’activité biologique de ces nanoparticules in vitro ont été réalisés. Une série de PTMC-b-PEG de fraction hydrophile massique f différentes (entre 34 et 6%) ont été obtenus par polymérisation par ouverture de cycle (ROP) du monomère triméthylène carbonate (TMC) amorcée par un PEG (MW= 2000 g/mol). Les études d’auto-assemblage ont montré que la fraction hydrophile était liée à la morphologie des objets obtenus (micelles et vésicules) et que la taille et la morphologie pouvaient être modulées en fonction du protocole utilisé. Des PTMC-b-PEG-SCH546738 ont été obtenus par couplage convergent entre le PEG-SCH546738 et le bloc PTMC. Le co auto-assemblage entre les copolymères fonctionnalisés et non fonctionnalisés a été réalisé par nanoprécipitation contrôlée par un système de microfluidique qui permet d’obtenir des polymersomes monodisperses de tailles contrôlées. Le pourcentage molaire de SCH546738 en surface des polymersomes a été fixé à 5, 10 et 20 % et à l’aide d’une nanoparticule contrôle ces échantillons ont pu être testés in vitro sur cellules HEK 293 et U87 surexprimant le CXCR3-A. L’influence du ligand et son pourcentage sur l’internalisation des nanoparticules à différents temps et sur le blocage des voies de signalisation des cellules cancéreuses ont été observés. / This thesis deals with the elaboration of polymeric nanoparticles functionalized by the ligand SCH546738 to target the CXCR3 receptor overexpressed in human healthy or tumoral cells. Poly(trimethylene carbonate-b-Poly(ethylene glycol) (PTMC-b-PEG) blocks copolymers and PTMC-b-PEG-SCH546738 synthesis, then their self-assembly with different ratios in water, and finally biological activity in vitro of these different nanoparticles were studied. A serie of PTMC-b-PEG with different hydrophilic mass fractions f (between 34 and 6%) were obtained by ring opening polymerization (ROP) of trimethylene carbonate (TMC) initiated by a block PEG (MW: 2000 g/mol). Self-assembly studies showed that the hydrophilic mass fraction was related to the morphology of the nano objects (micelles and vesicles) and that size and morphology of nano objects can be changed by the self-assembly protocol. PTMC-b-PEG-SCH546738 were obtained by the convergent coupling between PEG-SCH546738 and PTMC block. The co self-assembly of functionalized and not functionalized copolymers was done by nanoprecipitation controlled by a microfluidic system that allows monodisperse polymersomes with controlled size to be produced. The molar percentage of SCH546738 at the surface of polymersomes was fixed at 5, 10 and 20 %, and with the control nanoparticle, these samples were tested in vitro on HEK 293 and U87 cells overexpressing the CXCR3-A. The influence of the ligand and its percentage on nanoparticles internalization and signaling pathways blocking on cells were analyzed.

L'objectif principal de ce travail de thèse étant la préparation de nanovecteurs biocompatibles, nous avons mis au point des systèmes catalytiques exempts de métal pour polymériser les différents monomères préparés dérivés de l’acide diméthylmalique. En présence de ces systèmes catalytiques, la polymérisation anionique par ouverture de cycle (aROP) se déroule de manière contrôlée avec une cinétique plus rapide que celle réalisée en présence d’autres organo-catalyseurs déjà décrit dans la littérature. Nous avons ainsi synthétisé trois homopolymères hydrophobes et deux familles de copolymères di-blocs amphiphiles ayant différentes balances hydrophiles/hydrophobes. Des nanoparticules (NPs) ont été préparées par nanoprécipitation à partir des homopolymères hydrophobes et des copolymères à blocs amphiphiles. La taille des NPs varie entre 30 et 170 nm avec de faibles dispersités (PDI ≤ 0,23) et ayant une très bonne stabilité à 4°C et à 37°C. Des études de cytotoxicité in vitro sur la lignée cellulaire d'hépatome HepaRG ont mis en évidence que toutes les NPs ont une faible toxicité à des concentrations inférieures à 3 μM. En parallèle, une sonde fluorescente, le DiR, a été encapsulée dans les NPs lors de la nanoprécipitation sans affecter les caractéristiques et la stabilité des NPs correspondantes. Enfin, des études in vitro utilisant ces NPs chargées en DiR ont montré que ces dernières étaient effectivement captées par les cellules HepaRG avec différents pourcentages de captation. / The main objective of this PhD thesis being the preparation of biocompatible nanovectors, we have set up metal-free catalytic systems to polymerize various prepared monomers derived from dimethylmalic acid. Using such catalytic systems, the anionic ring opening polymerization (aROP) proceeds in a controlled manner with faster kinetics compared to the organo-catalysts already reported in the literature. Three hydrophobic homopolymers and two families of amphiphilic block copolymers with different hydrophilic/hydrophobic balances have been therefore synthesized. Nanoparticles (NPs) have been prepared by nanoprecipitation of these hydrophobic homopolymers and amphiphilic block copolymers. The size of the NPs ranges from 30 to 170 nm with low dispersity values (PDI ≤ 0.23) and high stability at 4°C and 37°C. In vitro cytotoxicity studies on HepaRG hepatoma cell line have highlighted that all the NPs have low toxicity at concentrations lower than 3μM. In parallel, NPs were loaded with the fluorescent probe DiR without altering the characteristics and the stability of the corresponding DiR loaded NPs. Finally, in vitro studies using NPs loaded with DiR have shown that HepaRG cells effectively uptake the NPs in different percentages of uptake.

No description available.

The addition of isocyanates to C=N double bonds of imines gives triazindione heterocycle structures; their thermal properties are reported. Mono-isocyanates were used to form 2:1 adducts with the imine bases 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU), 1,5-diazabicyclo[4.3.0]non-5-ene (DBN) and 2-tert-butyl-1,1,3,3-tetramethylguanidine (tBuTMG). A 2:1 stoichiometry of the adducts was proven by NMR and IR spectroscopy, and single crystal X-Ray diffraction; certain cleavage temperatures (70 and 160 °C) were measured. Thermal analysis (TG-MS) of adducts indicates the release of free isocyanate during adduct cleavage. Furthermore, a new class of step-growth oligomers (MN = 750–7,000 g∙mol–1) composed of multi-functional isocyanates and these imine bases was introduced. Their systematic spectroscopic and thermal analysis is shown revealing the similarity in their chemical properties to the 2:1 adducts. Radical homo- and copolymerization of acrylates is initiated by the meta-stable adducts and oligomers of this work; the generation of novel telomeric block-copolymer architectures composed of polyacrylate and oligourea building blocks is demonstrated. / Dieser Beitrag ist aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

No description available.