Several recent examples in the literature have highlighted the potential of poly(2-oxazoline)s (PAOx) in polymer-drug conjugate applications. PAOx has a distinct advantage in that comparatively high drug loadings can be achieved because of the possibilities of functionalizing the repeat unit side chains. Compare this to other polymers, such as polyethylene glycol, which can only be loaded at the end groups.<br/>Like other soluble drug delivery systems, however, PAOx-drug conjugates may suffer from low drug delivery efficiencies if it is cleared from the body before all the drug has been cleaved. To address this we hypothesize that crosslinking PAOx-drug conjugates may allow for implantable drug delivery devices with good efficiencies and sustained drug release for days to weeks.<br/>A homologous series of poly(2-oxazoline) copolymers was synthesized from 2-methyl, 2-ethyl, 2-propyl or 2-butyl-oxazoline copolymerized with the alkene-containing monomer 2-decenyl-2-oxazoline. A proportion of the alkene handles were then used to conjugate a small molecule drug via a hydrolytically cleavable group followed by photo-crosslinking of the polymer-drug conjugates by thiol-ene coupling of the remaining alkenes with a small molecule dithiol. <i>In vitro</i> drug release experiments showed that the drug release profile could be varied depending on the length of the alkyl side-chain demonstrating the versatility of these polymers.

Conjugation and release of drugs from poly(2-oxazoline) hydrogels

2019 Spring National Meeting

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.