Polymeric nanoparticles as a drug delivery system have the potential to minimize side effects that arise from conventional chemotherapeutic agents and radiation therapy. In this research, high molecular weight linear poly (xylitol sebacate) (PXS) will be synthesized and characterized for their ability to the form nanoparticles. Previous research has shown PXS to have better degradation, biocompatibility, and mechanical properties compared to Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) making them suitable for the formation of nanoparticles. To date, PXS polymers have been synthesized, however, the active hydroxyl groups of the xylitol component of PXS react with the diacid group, creating branched polymers or crosslinked networks, preventing the formation of nanoparticles. To create linear polymers, a methoxy terminated xylitol (MeOX) monomer will be synthesized by o-silylation of primary alcohols, o-methylation of secondary alcohols and deprotection of primary alcohols on xylitol. The formation of a protected xylitol will prevent the formation of branches and increase the molecular weight of the PXS to 30 – 60 kDa. The MeOX will then be reacted with sebacic acid to form PXS through melt polymerization at 150 <sup>o</sup>C for 24 hrs. FTIR confirmed the formation of the o-silylation product by the presence of peaks at 1252 cm-1 (Si-CH3) and ~780 and 835 cm-1 (Si-C). This was further confirmed by the absence of peaks between 82-90 ppm (Si-O-CH) in <sup>13</sup>C-NMR illustrating selective reaction toward the primary alcohols. The o-methylation was successful with the presence of peaks at 1252 cm-1 (Si-CH3) and ~780 and 835 cm-1 (Si-C) and 1150-1050 cm-1 confirming the presence of the methoxy group.

Synthesis and characterization of high molecular weight poly (xylitol sebacate) polymers for improved targeted nanoparticle drug delivery

256th National Meeting (2018)

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