Enzymatically-triggered, isothermally responsive polymers: re-programming poly(oligoethylene glycols) to respond to phosphatase

Phillips, D. J., Wilde, M., Greco, F. and Gibson, M. I. (2015) Enzymatically-triggered, isothermally responsive polymers: re-programming poly(oligoethylene glycols) to respond to phosphatase. Biomacromolecules, 16 (10). pp. 3256-3264. ISSN 1525-7797 doi: 10.1021/acs.biomac.5b00929

Abstract/Summary

Polymers which can respond to externally applied stimuli have found much application in the biomedical field due to their (reversible) coil–globule transitions. Polymers displaying a lower critical solution temperature are the most commonly used, but for blood-borne (i.e., soluble) biomedical applications the application of heat is not always possible, nor practical. Here we report the design and synthesis of poly(oligoethylene glycol methacrylate)-based polymers whose cloud points are easily varied by alkaline phosphatase-mediated dephosphorylation. By fine-tuning the density of phosphate groups on the backbone, it was possible to induce an isothermal transition: A change in solubility triggered by removal of a small number of phosphate esters from the side chains activating the LCST-type response. As there was no temperature change involved, this serves as a model of a cell-instructed polymer response. Finally, it was found that both polymers were non cytotoxic against MCF-7 cells (at 1 mg·mL–1), which confirms promise for biomedical applications.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/49229
Identification Number/DOI	10.1021/acs.biomac.5b00929
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Chemistry, Food and Pharmacy > School of Pharmacy > Pharmaceutics Research Group
Publisher	American Chemical Society
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