Nanostructure of polystyrene-b-poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) and derivatives with phosphonic diacid groups
In this study, a novel approach for the preparation of nanodomains with phosphonic diacid groups that were previously shown to reversibly bind to a family of proteins (annexins) in a calcium-dependent manner is described. The strategy makes use of polystyrene-b-poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PHEMA) precursors prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) to obtain hexagonally packed PS cylinders (fPS = 0.25-0.27) in a PHEMA matrix. The pendant hydroxyl groups of PHEMA are then partially (ca. 20%) converted into phosphonic diacid groups via sequential reactions involving phosphorylation, silylation and methanolysis. This process produces PS-b-P(HEMA-co-PEMA) derivatives that still retain the hexagonal morphology, but their degree of structural organization is reduced comp...

Effects of surfactants on the properties of PLGA nanoparticles.
The objective of this study was to investigate the physical characteristics of poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) coated with two surfactants, Pluronic or the commonly used polyvinyl alcohol (PVA); and determine their in vitro efficiency as drug carriers for cancer therapy. Free surfactant cytotoxicity results indicated that Pluronic F127 (PF127) was most cytocompatible among the Pluronics tested and hence chosen for coating PLGA NPs for further studies. Release studies using doxorubicin (DOX) as a drug model showed sustained release of DOX from both PVA- and PF127-coated PLGA NPs (PLGA-PVA and PLGA-PF127, respectively) over 28 days. Further, there was no significant difference in human dermal fibroblasts and human aortic smooth muscle cell survival when exposed t...