Search

Supramolecular polymeric materials are of increasing interest for the use as drug delivery carriers. A thorough insight in the biocompatibility and the degradation of these materials in vivo are of fundamental importance to further their development and application in medical practice. Molecular imaging techniques are powerful tools that enable the elucidation of molecular distributions in and around such polymer implants. A supramolecular polymeric hydrogel was implanted under the renal capsule to study its biocompatibility with TOF-SIMS. This results in a molecular cartography of the polymer implant combined with the cellular signature of the implantation environment. In this experiment, molecular signals are observed from cells that are involved in the biological response to the implant, e.g., macrophages. These molecular signatures are compared with macrophage standards cultured in different polarization environments. On the basis of this comparison, information can be acquired on the various macrophage differentiations that are connected to different stages in the foreign body response. Mass spectrometric imaging techniques offer the opportunity to visualize different histological phenomena in a single experiment without the need for specific immunohistochemical markers. Cellular infiltration into the polymer is visualized, offering a clear view on both biological and polymer features in a single imaging experiment. 10.1021/ac100837n

The authors review the publications on the radical polymerization. The topics of interest include nitroxide-mediated living free radical polymerization, strategies for polymeric structure and macromolecular architecture control and the design of nitroxides with improved performance.

Development of biomaterials for hernia and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) repair is encouraged because of high local complication rates with current materials. Therefore, we aimed to develop a functionalized electrospun mesh that promotes tissue ingrowth and provides adequate mechanical strength and compliance during degradation. We describe the in vivo function of a new supramolecular bioactivated polycarbonate (PC) material based on fourfold hydrogen bonding ureidopyrimidinone (UPy) units (UPy-PC). The UPy-PC material was functionalized with UPy-modified cyclic arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (cRGD) peptide additives. Morphometric analysis of the musculofascial content during wound healing showed that cRGD functionalization promotes myogenesis with inhibition of collagen deposition at 14 days. It also prevents muscle atrophy at 90 days and exerts an immunomodulatory effect on infiltrating macrophages at 14 days and foreign body giant cell formation at 14 and 90 days. Additionally, the bioactivated material promotes neovascularization and connective tissue ingrowth. Supramolecular cRGD-bioactivation of UPy-PC-meshes promotes integration of the implant, accelerates tissue ingrowth and reduces scar formation, resulting in physiological neotissue formation when used for abdominal wall reconstruction in the rat hernia model. Moreover, cRGD-bioactivation prevents muscle atrophy and modulates the inflammatory response. Our results provide a promising outlook towards a new type of biomaterial for the treatment of hernia and POP. Development of biomaterials for hernia and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) repair is encouraged because of high local complication rates with current materials. Ureidopyrimidinone-polycarbonate is a elastomeric and biodegradable electrospun mesh, which could mimic physiological compliance. The UPy-PC material was functionalized with UPy-modified cyclic arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (cRGD) peptide additives. Supramolecular cRGD-bioactivation of UPy-PC-meshes promotes integration of the implant, accelerates tissue ingrowth and reduces scar formation, resulting in physiological neotissue formation when used for abdominal wall reconstruction in rat hernia model. Moreover, cRGD-bioactivation prevents muscle atrophy and modulates the inflammatory response. These data provide a promising outlook towards a new type of biomaterial for the treatment of hernia and POP. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dinitroxide relaxivity studies indicate that the electron exchange rate has only a small effect on relaxivity. Polynitroxyl relaxivity studies indicate that the per-nitroxide-based outer-sphere relaxivity nearly doubles for the generation 5 nitroxyl-functionalized dendrimer as compared to a mononitroxide model.

Research has been conducted on dendrimers. The authors describe the structural and physical properties of these compounds, the incorporation of these properties into supramolecular assemblies and the synthesis and interactions of the dendrimers with paraquat diol.

The development of a modular approach for the preparation of functionalized star polymers, which permits the custom synthesis of a wide variety of functionalized materials, is reported. The generality of this modular approach is demonstrated by the synthesis of three-dimensional nanomaterials and the diverse nature of themol applications shows the utility of this modular, library-based approach to functionalized three-dimensional macromolecules.

Functionalized one-step star polymers were structurally optimized in a high-throughput synthesis.

A wide range of N-t-BOC-protected glycine functionalized dendrimers were synthesized by reacting the N-hydroxy succinimidyl ester of N-t-BOC glycine with poly(propylene imine) amines and characterized via nuclear magnetic resonance and infrared spectroscopy. The X-ray structure of the dendrimers exhibited multiple interactions between various end groups of the dendrimer. The findings provided strong evidence that the localization of end groups as well as the density profiles in dendrimers are a function of the structure of the dendrimer.