Amphiphilic copolymers with a polyethylene glycol (PEG) backbone and side chains of different molecular weight and hydrophobicity form spherical aggregates (micelles) in aqueous solution. These copolymer aggregates can be used as carriers of hydrophobic drugs and for imaging purposes. Certain types of aggregates are expected to be more suitable for incorporation of small hydrophobic molecules in their core and subsequent release. The aggregates adsorb very sparingly to hydrophilic, negatively charged surfaces because of their outer, PEG-containing region. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) in tapping mode in liquid was used to characterize the adsorbed aggregates to detect the presence of a hydrophobic core and monitor possible size changes with other molecules incorporated. A good correlation was found between the volume of individual adsorbed aggregates of different copolymers as determined with AFM and light scattering data on the corresponding aggregates in solution.

Characterization of amphiphilic copolymer micelles for drug delivery

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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