pH-Triggered Assembling System Using Cooperative Binding between Cyclodextrin-Conjugated Poly(ε-lysine)s and Anionic Guest in Aqueous Media

One-Pot Synthesis of a Polyrotaxane via Selective Threading of a PEI-b-PEG-b-PEI Copolymer

A functional polyrotaxane of a PEI-b-PEG-b-PEI copolymer is synthesized in aqueous solution in a one-pot sequence. To obtain a polyrotaxane with PEG-block-selective inclusion complexes, the solution pH of the polypseudorotaxane is lowered to 4.4 in the presence of 9-anthraldehyde (AN), which triggers the expulsion of the alpha-cyclodextrins (alpha-CDs) from the flank PEI chains. Synthetic strategy of a block-selective polyrotaxane between a PEI-b-PEG-b-PEI copolymer and alpha-cyclodextrins.

Synthesis of Poly(ɛ-lysine)-Grafted Dextrans and Their pH- and Thermosensitive Hydrogelation with Cyclodextrins

To give pH sensitivity to a thermoreversible supramolecular-structured hydrogel system, poly(epsilon-lysine) (PL), as a cationic polymer, was grafted to dextran and used for inclusion complexation with alpha-cyclodextrins (alpha-CDs). The synthesized graft copolymer was characterized by 1H NMR spectroscopy, and the hydrogel formation was confirmed by X-ray diffraction and solid-state 13C NMR analysis. The hydrogelation was induced from a phase-separated structure of hydrated dextrans and hydrophobically aggregated inclusion complexes in buffer solution at pH 10.0. The prepared hydrogels showed thermoreversible gel-sol transitions as well as pH-sensitive phase transitions, which were recorded by the changes in UV/Vis transmittance. A rapid phase transition from gel to sol was observed upon decreasing the pH value to 4.0, which resulted from the dissociation process between the protonated guest polymer and alpha-CDs. The stimuli-responsive physical properties of the hydrogels were improved by modulating the degree of substitution of the grafted PL and the combination with alpha-CDs.

Associative pH Sensitive System

New associative pH sensitive systems composed of a modified dextran bearing 2-carboxycyclohexyl carboxyl groups and neutral (p betaCD) or positively charged (p betaCDN(+))beta-cyclodextrin-co-epichlorhydrin copolymers have been synthesized and their properties were investigated as a function of pH by phase diagrams and viscosimetry. The affinity between the CD cavities and the hydrophobic guests (2-carboxycyclohexyl carboxyl groups) has been studied as a function of pH. The system with the neutral p betaCD shows a pH dependent behavior due to the lowest affinity of the guest at pH above 5 for the cavity. Associative phase separation is produced at low pH whereas soluble complexes occur at higher pH. The opposite trend is observed with the system containing the cationic p betaCDN(+). This behavior is due to the combination of electrostatic and inclusion complex interactions in this system. Addition of salt, by screening the electrostatic interactions, also strongly influences the response of the system.