Date of Award
2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Materials Science
Committee Chair
Carmen Scholz
Committee Member
Bernhard Vogler
Committee Member
Geoffrey Bothun
Committee Member
Judith Schneider
Committee Member
Kyung-Ho Roh
Research Advisor
Carmen Scholz
Subject(s)
Polymerization, Block copolymers, Iron oxides--Magnetic properties, Nanoparticles, Drug delivery systems
Abstract
The development of polymeric micelles for biomedical applications has been of significant interest due to their potential for targeted delivery for therapeutic and diagnostic agents. This dissertation focusses on the synthesis, characterization, and application of amphiphilic PEGylated poly(amino acid) block copolymers as nanocarriers for superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) in magnetic particle imaging (MPI). Series of novel diblock and triblock copolymers were synthesized through ring-opening polymerization of amino acid N-Carboxyanhydrides (NCAs) to afford HO-PEG77-b-p(L-Leu)m and HO-PEGx-b-p(Allyl-L-Gly)10-b-p(L-Leu)n. These polymers were further functionalized to yield their folate conjugates through dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC) coupling. NMR and FTIR were used to verify the chemical structures of the block copolymeers. The copolymers were further characterized by TGA and DSC and it was found that increasing the hydrophobic block led to copolymers that were thermally more stable. The resulting amphiphilic block copolymers were self-assembled into micelles. The encapsulation of SPIONs within the micelle core was explored, thus confirming their potential for magnetic particle imaging (MPI). Photoinitiated crosslinking was employed to enhance micelle stability. It was shown that these crosslinked micelles were able to retain structural integrity after lyophilization and exhibited no measurable critical micelle concentration (CMC), which signifies successful crosslinking. TEM measurements showed the micelles morphology and size. The size data were corroborated by DLS studies, which also indicated a narrow size distribution.
Recommended Citation
Akinmola, Adekunle Titus, "Design and synthesis of crosslinkable amphiphilic PEGylated poly(amino acid) copolymers for SPION encapsulation" (2025). Dissertations. 449.
https://louis.uah.edu/uah-dissertations/449
Comments
Submitted ... in the joint Interdisciplinary Materials Science program.