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Preparation of thermo- and pH-responsive star copolymers via ATRP and its use in drug release application

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27 Scopus citations

Abstract

A star-shaped copolymer, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-itaconamic acid (poly(NIPAAm-co-IAM)), being pH- and thermo-dual-responsive, was synthesized by atomic transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and characterized in this work. The lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of the star copolymer increases with the molar fraction of IAM. The particle size decreases as the temperature increases but increases as the pH value increases. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveals that the star-shaped copolymer has a near-spherical core-shell structure that favors drug delivery. The star copolymer can be used in drug encapsulation as well as drug release. The star copolymer has different drug release rates in environments of different pH, and thus it can carry drugs in an acidic (gastric) environment and release the drugs in a neutral or less acidic (intestinal) environment.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)493-503
Number of pages11
JournalColloid and Polymer Science
Volume293
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2014

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2014, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Keywords

  • Drug release
  • Lower critical solution temperature (LCST)
  • Temperature sensitivity
  • pH sensitivity
  • poly(NIPAAm-co-IAM)

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