Nanogels are nanometre-sized hydrogels composed of three-dimensional networks of crosslinked polymer chains. These nanogels have attracted growing interest over recent years because of their potential biomedical applications, including in drug delivery and in bioimaging systems. However, before such nanogels can be introduced for these purposes, novel crosslinking methods with acceptable biodegradability and biocompatibility need to be developed. Moreover, the nanogels must respond to microenvironmental factors, such as pH and temperature. We have recently established a novel approach to generating pH-responsive protein-crosslinked nanogels by introducing pyridoxal (vitamin B6) to a hydrophilic polysaccharide using click chemistry. In this study, pyridoxal phosphate, which easily reacts with amine derivatives and forms Schiff base under ambient conditions, was introduced to a hydrophilic polysaccharide to prepare a novel nanogel crosslinked with a protein containing several amino groups.

Preparation of protein-crosslinked nanogels with pyridoxal-bearing polysaccharide for potential biomedical applications

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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