Dual-responsive nanogels based on oligo (ethylene glycol) methacrylates and acidic co-monomers

MACCHIONE, MICAELA; SACARELLI, FLORENCIA; RACCA, ANA C.; BIGLIONE, CATALINA; PANZETTA-DUTARI, G.M.; STRUMIA, M C

SOFT MATTER

ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY

Lugar: Cambridge; Año: 2019

1744-683X

Ethylene glycol-based nanogels (NGs) have demonstrated the potential for the development of next-generation formulations for biomedical applications due to their interesting properties. In this work, monodispersed NGs based on oligo (ethylene glycol) methacrylates (OEG) were synthetized through free radical precipitation/dispersion polymerization assisted by ultrasonication. 2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylate (MEO2MA) and oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (OEGMA) were used as main monomers, acrylic acid (AA) or itaconic acid (IA) as co-monomers and tetraethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) as crosslinker. Physicochemical properties of OEG-co-AA and OEG-co-IA NGs were studied including hydrodynamic diameter, poly-dispersity index, surface charge and pH/T responsiveness. Samples with 4% of both AA and of IA showed nanometric sizes. With respect to the thermal behaviour, some unexpected differences between nanogels with acrylic acid or with itaconic acid were observed. Besides, good viability in culture in a breast tumor cell line was observed even when high concentrations of NGs were tested. The properties of synthetized nanogels showed that either NG with 4 % AA or NG with 4 % IA are outstanding candidates for biomedical applications.