Gerardo Cedillo

Mucoadhesive thermo-responsive chitosan-g-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) polymeric micelles via a one-pot gamma-radiation-assisted pathway

Thermo-sensitive graft copolymer amphiphiles of chitosan (CS) and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNiPAAm), CS-g-PNIPAAm, were successfully synthesized by a catalyst-less one-pot gamma (γ)-radiation-assisted free radical polymerization at three different radiation doses: 5, 10 and 20 kGy. The chemical structure of the copolymers was confirmed by FTIR and solid-state (13)C NMR and the grafting extent by (1)H NMR and gravimetric analysis. In general, the higher the dose, the smaller the grafting due to the more significant NiPAAm homopolymerization. Due to the grafting of poly(NiPAAm) blocks, aqueous solutions of the different copolymers underwent a sharp transition upon heating above 32 °C, the characteristic lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of poly(NiPAAm). Then, the critical micellar concentration (CMC), the size and size distribution and the zeta-potential were characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and the polymeric micelles visualized in suspension and quantified by Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA), at 37 °C. CMC values were in the 0.0012-0.0025%w/v range and micelles displayed sizes between 99 and 203 nm with low polydispersity (<0.160) and highly positive zeta-potential (>+15 mV) that suggested the partial conservation of the amine groups upon NiPAAm grafting. Consequently, polymeric micelles displayed the intrinsic mucoadhesiveness of CS, as established in vitro by the mucin solution assay. Finally, the encapsulation capacity of the micelles was assessed with the highly hydrophobic protease inhibitor antiretroviral indinavir free base (IDV). Polymeric micelles led to a significant 24-fold increase of the aqueous solubility from 63 μg/mL to 1.45 mg/mL, a performance remarkably better than different poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(propylene oxide) block copolymers assessed before. Overall results highlight the potential of this nanotechnology platform to expand the application of polymeric micelles to mucosal administration routes.

Incorporation of nanohybrid films of silica into recycled polystyrene matrix

An alternative for the reutilization of polystyrene waste containers consisting in creating a hybrid material made of SiO2 nanoparticles embedded in a matrix of recycled polystyrene (PSR) has been developed. Recycled polystyrene functionalized (PSRF) was used to influence the morphological and antifog properties by the sol-gel synthesis of nanohybrid silica. To this end, silica nanoparticles were produced from alkoxide precursors in the presence of recycled polystyrene. The functionalization of this polymeric matrix was with the purpose of uniting in situ carboxyl and silanol groups during the sol-gel process. In this way, opaque or transparent solid substrates can be obtained, with each of these endowed with optical conditions that depend on the amount of reactants employed to prepare each nanohybrid specimen. The nanohybrids were labelled as SiO2/PSR (HPSR) and SiO2/PSRF (HPSRF) and their properties were then compared to those of commercial polystyrene (PS). All the prepared samples were used for coating glass substrates. The hydrophobicity of the resultant coatings was determined through contact angle measurement. The nanohybrid materials were characterized by FT-IR and 1H-NMR techniques. Additionally, TGA and SEM were employed to determine their thermal and textural properties.