Johan Janzen

Hydrophobically derivatized hyperbranched polyglycerol as a human serum albumin substitute

There is a huge clinical demand for Human Serum Albumin (HSA), with a world market of approximately

Poly(oligo(ethylene glycol)acrylamide) brushes by surface initiated polymerization: effect of macromonomer chain length on brush growth and protein adsorption from blood plasma.

1.5B/year. Concern over prion and viral transmission in the blood supply has led to a need for safer substitutes and offers the opportunity for development of materials with enhanced properties over the presently available plasma expanders. We report here the synthesis and testing of a new synthetic plasma expander that can replace not only the osmotic and volume expansion properties of HSA but, uniquely, its binding and transport properties. We have synthesized several hyperbranched polyglycerols derivatized with hydrophobic groups and short poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) chains. The hydrophobic groups provide regions for binding fatty acids and other hydrophobic materials while PEG imparts the necessary protection from host defense systems and enhances circulation longevity. These polymers, being hyperbranched, have only a small effect on plasma viscosity. We have shown in vitro that our materials bind 2-3 moles palmitic acid per mole, do not activate the platelet, coagulation or complement systems and do not cause red cell aggregation. In mice these materials are non-toxic with circulation half-lives as high as 34h, controllable by manipulating the molecular weight and the degree of PEG derivatization.

Interfacial thickness of liposomes containing poly(ethylene glycol)-cholesterol from electrophoresis

Three hydrolytically stable polyethyleneglycol (PEG)-based N-substituted acrylamide macromonomers, methoxypolyethyleneglycol (350) acrylamide (MPEG350Am) methoxypolyethyleneglycol (750) acrylamide(MPEG750Am) and methoxypolyethyleneglycol (2000)acrylamide (MPEG2000Am) with increasing PEG chain length were synthesized. Surface-initiated aqueous atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) using CuCl/1,1,4,7,10,10-hexamethyl triethylene tetramine (HMTETA) catalyst was utilized to generate dense polymer brushes from these monomers via an ester linker group on the surface of model polystyrene (PS) particles. The molecular weight, hydrodynamic thickness, and graft densities of the grafted polymer layers were controlled by changing the reaction parameters of monomer concentration, addition of Cu(II)Cl2, and sodium chloride. The graft densities of surface-grafted brushes decreased with increasing PEG macromonomer chain length, 350 > 750 >> 2000, under similar experimental conditions. The molecular weight of grafts increased with increase in monomer concentration, and only selected conditions produced narrow distributed polymer chains. The molecular weight of grafted polymer chains differs significantly to those formed in solution. The hydrodynamic thicknesses of the grafted polymer layers were fitted to the Daoud and Cotton model (DCM) for brush height on spherical surfaces. The results show that the size of the pendent groups on the polymer chains has a profound effect on the hydrodynamic thickness of the brush for a given degree of polymerization. The new PEG-based surfaces show good protection against nonspecific protein adsorption from blood plasma compared to the bare surface. Protein adsorption decreased with increasing surface density of grafted polymer chains. Poly(MPEG750Am) brushes were more effective in preventing protein adsorption than poly(MPEG350Am) even at low graft densities, presumably due to the increase in PEG content in the grafted layer.

Thermal reversal of polyvalent choline phosphate, a multivalent universal biomembrane adhesive.

The electrophoretic mobilities of liposomes incorporating a polyethylene glycol (PEG) headgroup coupled to cholesterol for PEG of average chain index 3.0, 13.2, and 22.3 have been determined as a function of PEG-cholesterol mole fraction between 5% and 40% and ionic strength between 2 and 200 mM. The liposome compositions were 40 mole % cholesterol plus PEG-cholesterol, 10 mole % 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glyerco-3-phosphoglycerol, and 50 mole % egg phosphatidylcholine. The mobilities were fit to a model in which the PEG forms a surface layer of polymer subject to viscous drag arising from electroosmotic flow within this layer. The model provides estimates of the average layer thickness that are comparable to those determined from contemporary models of surface-attached polymer.

Plasma protein adsorption to surfaces grafted with dense homopolymer and copolymer brushes containing poly(N-isopropylacrylamide).

Multivalent macromolecular associations are widely observed in biological systems and are increasingly being utilized in bioengineering, nanomedicine, and biomaterial applications. Control over such associations usually demands an ability to reverse the multivalent binding. While in principle this can be done with binding site competitive inhibitors, dissociation is difficult in practice due to limited site accessibility when the macromolecule is bound. We demonstrate here efficient binding reversal of multivalent linear copolymers that adhere to any mammalian cell via the universal mechanism based on choline phosphate (CP) groups binding to phosphatidyl choline (PC)-containing biomembranes. Using a smart linear polymer exhibiting a lower critical solution temperature (LCST), we take advantage of the thermal contraction of the polymer above the LCST, which reduces accessibility of the CP groups to cell membrane PC lipids. The polymer construct can then desorb from the cell surface, reversing all effects of multivalent polymer adhesion on the cell.

Biocompatibility testing of branched and linear polyglycidol.

Growing polymer chains from surface initiators in principle allows much more dense polymer surface layers to be created than can be produced by grafting of whole (self-excluding) chains. We have utilized aqueous atom transfer radical polymerization to graft a series of cleavable hydrophilic poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) homopolymers and block copolymers of substituted acrylamides from polystyrene latex to give brushes of controlled MW and surface density. Average chain separations much less than their free solution radii of gyration have been achieved. Exposure to radiolabeled single proteins or to whole plasma and subsequent analysis by SDS-PAGE shows that PNIPAM brushes decrease protein adsorption relative to the latex surface or other substituted polyacrylamides. The PNIPAM brushes exhibit a second-order phase transition around 30°C as reflected by a decrease in the hydrodynamic thickness of the brush at higher temperatures. Total plasma protein adsorption is increased at 40°C compared to 20°C but there is significant differential adsorption behavior among the proteins detected by gel-electrophoresis analysis.