Biocompatible polymeric nanoparticles are widely used for targeted drug delivery. Compared to larger particles, nanoparticles do not get stuck at the injection site, and enter blood circulation more easily. The particles are commonly made from biodegradable polymers such as poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA), which are FDA approved. A common approach to increase blood circulation time is PEGylation of the PLGA nanoparticle surface, as PEGylation renders the particle surface hydrophilic and prevents non-specific protein adsorption. Similar to PEGylation, the particle surface can be coated with poly(zwitterion)s, which results in prolonged circulation life of the particles while at the same time maintaining bioactivity. Zwitterionic poly(carboxybetain) methacrylate (PCBMA) brushes are grown from functional PLGA nanoparticles that are prepared by electrohydrodynamic (EHD) co-jetting. The brush-coated (hairy) PLGA nanoparticles are highly versatile in terms of PCBMA brush thickness and grafting density. The advantage of using PCBMA brush coatings is the possibility of conjugating various ligands to the PCBMA chains, which allows for targeting of specific cells, for example mannose ligands for targeting the mannose receptor on macrophages, or specific antigens targeting the T cell receptor. Since the targeting ligands are conjugated to the brush, multivalent presentation of the ligands to the respective cell surface receptors results in greater targeting efficiency as compared to the bare PLGA nanoparticles modified with targeting ligands.<br/>

Biodegradable hairy nanoparticles for biomedical applications

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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