Smart hybrid copolymer-coated silica nanosystems with dual responsiveness as a carrier for positive charged molecules

AMÉNDOLA, IVANA F.; VELASCO, MANUEL I.; ACOSTA, RODOLFO H.; SOLER ILLIA, GALO J.A.A.; CONTRERAS, CINTIA BELÉN

EUROPEAN POLYMER JOURNAL

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Año: 2024 vol. 204

0014-3057

Smart nanosystems consisting of inorganic particles and responsive polymers display significant and remarkableaspects. Such combined work exploits a facile path for multifunctional nanomaterials and facilitates variousnovel technological applications due to “live” polymer components. Here, we report the design and synthesis of anew platform of smart hybrid nanosystems (SHN) for positively charged probe loading and specific release underpH and temperature-controlled conditions. The SHN was prepared by a simple sequential method that producedan integrated core–shell nanomaterial with a dual stimulus response and excellent colloidal stability. Further, wedemonstrate by crossing DLS and NMR results that these core–shell nanosystems present transduction from bothstimuli to a mechanical shrinkage of the polymeric shell, leading to a remote-controlled dual response that can besynthetically tuned by controlling the molar ratio between monomers. Finally, we studied the potential of theseSHN as molecular carriers and demonstrated that they are useful for selective ionic encapsulation of positivelycharged molecules, which release is controlled by the dual responsiveness. We successfully extended this conceptto doxorubicin release triggered by T and pH changes, which opens possibilities of using these SHN improvingresults and patient compliance in chemotherapy treatments.