Publication Date:August 18, 2020 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.0c01208 Selective Doping of Positive and Negative Spatial Defects into Polymer Gels by Tuning the Pregel Packing Conditions of Star Polymers Abstract Gels are giant single molecules that consist of a very large number (∼Avogadro’s number) of cross-linked nanometer-size polymer chains.   Unlike most low-molecular-weight compounds, the extensively cross-linked gel networks typically do not exhibit a well-defined structure.   In a previous study, we disproved this preconception and demonstrated that by applying suitable percolation conditions during the gelation process, a highly homogeneous gel with an ordered structure can be synthesized.   In the present study, we further demonstrate that by tuning the percolation conditions, stable polymer-rich or polymer-poor nanodefects can be selectively introduced in the gel network;   the controlled addition of such nanodefects has not been achieved before.   The successful introduction of nanodefects was confirmed using laser speckle tests, and their structures and dynamics were evaluated in Fourier space using static and dynamic scattering measurements.   While the addition of polymer-rich defects had a relatively little effect on the elastic modulus of gels, the addition of pores significantly lowered the elastic modulus, suggesting that substantial topological defects were introduced simultaneously when the packing ratio was low.   The controlled addition of such nanodefects may potentially modulate the structural, mechanical, optical, and mass transportation properties of the gels effectively, and thus serve as a new design strategy for gel materials. Related products Abbreviation: Tetrazine-PEG-NH2 Name: α-Tetrazine-ω-amino poly(ethylene glycol) For more product information, please contact us at: US Tel: 1-844-782-5734 US Tel: 1-844-QUAL-PEG CHN Tel: 400-918-9898 Email: sales@sinopeg.com

Biomater Sci. 2020 Jun 21;8(12):3334-3347.   doi: 10.1039/d0bm00429d.   Epub 2020 May 20. Coupling PEG-LZM polymer networks with polyphenols yields suturable biohydrogels for tissue patching Haoqi Tan 1, Junjie Sun, Dawei Jin, Jialin Song, Miao Lei, Artem Antoshin, Xin Chen, Meng Yin, Xue Qu, Changsheng Liu Abstract Poor mechanical performances severely limit the application of hydrogels in vivo;   for example, it is difficult to perform a very common suturing operation on hydrogels during surgery.   There is a growing demand to improve the mechanical properties of hydrogels for broadening their clinical applications.   Natural polyphenols can match the potential toughening sites in our previously reported PEG-lysozyme (LZM) hydrogel because polyphenols have unique structural units including a hydroxyl group and an aromatic ring that can interact with PEG via hydrogen bonding and form hydrophobic interactions with LZM.   By utilizing polyphenols as noncovalent crosslinkers, the resultant PEG-LZM-polyphenol hydrogel presents super toughness and high elasticity in comparison to pristine PEG-LZM with no obvious changes in the initial shape, and it can even withstand the high pressure from sutures.   At the same time, the mechanical properties could be widely adjusted by varying the polyphenol concentration.   Interestingly, the PEG-LZM-polyphenol hydrogel has a higher water content than other polyphenol-toughened hydrogels, which may better meet the clinical needs for hydrogel materials.   Besides, the introduction of polyphenols endows the hydrogel with improved antibacterial and anti-inflammatory abilities.   Finally, the PEG-LZM-polyphenol (tannic acid) hydrogel was demonstrated to successfully patch a rabbit myocardial defect by suturing for 4 weeks and improve the wound healing and heart function recovery compared to autologous muscle patches. Related products Abbreviation: Tetrazine-PEG-NH2 Name: α-Tetrazine-ω-amino poly(ethylene glycol) For more product information, please contact us at: US Tel: 1-844-782-5734 US Tel: 1-844-QUAL-PEG CHN Tel: 400-918-9898 Email: sales@sinopeg.com

Nat Commun. 2020 Sep 9;11(1):4502.    doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-18308-9. Swelling-strengthening hydrogels by embedding with deformable nanobarriers Feng Wu 1, Yan Pang 2, Jinyao Liu 3 Abstract Biological tissues, such as muscle, can increase their mechanical strength after swelling due to the existence of many biological membrane barriers that can regulate the transmembrane transport of water molecules and ions.    Oppositely, typical synthetic materials show a swelling-weakening behavior, which always suffers from a sharp decline in mechanical strength after swelling, because of the dilution of the network.    Here, we describe a swelling-strengthening phenomenon of polymer materials achieved by a bioinspired strategy.    Liposomal membrane nanobarriers are covalently embedded in a crosslinked network to regulate transmembrane transport.    After swelling, the stretched network deforms the liposomes and subsequently initiates the transmembrane diffusion of the encapsulated molecules that can trigger the formation of a new network from the preloaded precursor.    Thanks to the tough nature of the double-network structure, the swelling-strengthening phenomenon is achieved to polymer hydrogels successfully.    Swelling-triggered self-strengthening enables the development of various dynamic materials. Related products Abbreviation: Tetrazine-PEG-NH2 Name: α-Tetrazine-ω-amino poly(ethylene glycol) For more product information, please contact us at: US Tel: 1-844-782-5734 US Tel: 1-844-QUAL-PEG CHN Tel: 400-918-9898 Email: sales@sinopeg.com

Biomater Sci. 2020 Dec 15;8(24):6946-6956.    doi: 10.1039/d0bm01213k. A reduced polydopamine nanoparticle-coupled sprayable PEG hydrogel adhesive with anti-infection activity for rapid wound sealing Junjie Sun 1, Haoqi Tan 1, Huan Liu 1, Dawei Jin 2, Meng Yin 2, Haodong Lin 3, Xue Qu 1, Changsheng Liu 1 Abstract There is a growing demand to develop sprayable hydrogel adhesives with rapid-forming and antibacterial abilities to instantly seal open wounds and combat pathogen infection.    Herein, we propose to design a polydopamine nanoparticle (PDA NP) coupled PEG hydrogel that can quickly solidify via an amidation reaction after spraying as well as tightly binding PDA NPs to deliver reactive oxygen species (ROS) and induce a photothermal effect for bactericidal activity, and provide a hydrophilic surface for antifouling activity.    The molecular structure of the 4-arm-PEG-NHS precursor was regulated to increase its reactivity with 4-arm-PEG-NH2, which thus shortened the gelation time of the PEG adhesive to 1 s to allow a fast solidification after being sprayed.    The PEG-NHS precursor also provided covalent binding with tissue and PDA NPs.    The reduced PDA NPs have redox activity to convey electrons to oxygen to generate ROS (H2O2), thus endowing the hydrogel with ROS dependent antibacterial ability.    Moreover, NIR irradiation can accelerate the ROS release because of the photothermal effect of PDA NPs.    In vitro tests demonstrated that H2O2 and the NIR-photothermal effect synergistically induced a fast bacterial killing, and an in vivo anti-infection test also proved the effectiveness of PEG-PDA.    The sprayable PEG-PDA hydrogel adhesive, with rapid-forming performance and a dual bactericidal mechanism, may be promising for sealing large-scale and acute wound sites or invisible bleeding sites, and protect them from pathogen infection. Related products Abbreviation: SC-PEG-SC Name: α,ω-Disuccinimidyl poly(ethylene glycol) Abbreviation: SCM-PEG-SCM Name: α,ω-Disuccinimidyl carboxymethyl ester poly(ethylene glycol) Abbreviation: SPA-PEG-SPA Name: α,ω-Disuccinimidyl propionyloxy poly(ethylene glycol) Abbreviation: 4-arm PEG-SC Name: 4-arm Poly(ethylene glycol) succinimidyl carbonate Abbreviation: 4-arm PEG-SCM Name: 4-arm Poly(ethylene glycol) succinimidyl carboxymethyl ester For more product information, please contact us at: US Tel: 1-844-782-5734 US Tel: 1-844-QUAL-PEG CHN Tel: 400-918-9898 Email: sales@sinopeg.com

March 2019 Chinese Journal of Polymer Science (English Edition) 37(6) DOI:10.1007/s10118-019-2234-z Langmuir-Blodgett Films of C60-end-capped Poly(ethylene oxide) Abstract Buckyballs (C60) are linked to one end and two ends of linear poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) chains through highly efficient click chemistry to obtain giant amphiphilic molecules C60-PEO and C60-PEO-C60, respectively. C60-PEO and C60-PEO-C60 molecules are spread on water surface and then transferred to solid substrates with Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) film deposition approach. C60-PEO and C60-PEO-C60 exhibit fractal growth behavior on the solid substrate under certain conditions owing to the crystallization ability of PEO segment. PEO chain length and the end capped mode both affect the fractal growth pattern. Related products Abbreviation: mPEG-N3 Name: Methoxypoly(ethylene glycol) azide Abbreviation: N3-PEG-N3 Name: α,ω-Diazido poly(ethylene glycol) For more product information, please contact us at: US Tel: 1-844-782-5734 US Tel: 1-844-QUAL-PEG CHN Tel: 400-918-9898 Email: sales@sinopeg.com

First published: 27 May 2020 https://doi.org/10.1002/macp.202000121 Micelles with a Loose Core Self-Assembled from Coil-g-Rod Graft Copolymers Displaying High Drug Loading Capacity Qijing Huang, Zhanwen Xu, Chunhua Cai, Jiaping Lin Abstract High drug loading capacity is one of the critical demands of micellar drug-delivery vehicles;  however, it is a challenging work.  Herein, it is demonstrated that micelles self-assembled from poly(ethylene glycol)-graft-poly(γ-benzyl-l-glutamate) (PEG-g-PBLG) coil-g-rod graft copolymers display high drug-loading capacity for doxorubicin (DOX) model drugs.  As revealed by a combination study of experiments and dissipative particle dynamics simulations, the high drug-loading capacity of the micelles is related to the loose core structure of the micelles.  In these micelles, the hydrophobic PBLG grafts randomly disperse in the micelle core due to their rigid nature and the coil-g-rod topology of the graft copolymers, which results in a loose core of the micelles.  The structure of the graft copolymer, including the length of rod grafts, the length of coil backbone, and the grafting ratio of the rod grafts affecting the arrangement of the rod grafts in the micelle core has influence on the drug-loading capacity of the micelles.  Besides, the strong π–π stacking interaction between graft copolymers and DOX also plays an important part in achieving high drug-loading capacity.  In vitro studies reveal that these drug-loaded micelles show good biocompatibility, and the DOX can be gradually released from the micelles. Related products Abbreviation: PEG-g-NH2 Name: Poly(ethylene glycol) graft amine For more product information, please contact us at: US Tel: 1-844-782-5734 US Tel: 1-844-QUAL-PEG CHN Tel: 400-918-9898 Email: sales@sinopeg.com

Int J Biol Macromol. 2018 May:111:1032-1039.  doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2018.01.134.  Epub 2018 Jan 31. SS-mPEG chemical modification of recombinant phospholipase C for enhanced thermal stability and catalytic efficiency Xian Fang 1, Xueting Wang 1, Guiling Li 2, Jun Zeng 2, Jian Li 2, Jingwen Liu 3 Abstract PEGylation is one of the most promising and extensively studied strategies for improving the properties of proteins as well as enzymic physical and thermal stability.  Phospholipase C, hydrolyzing the phospholipids offers tremendous applications in diverse fields.  However, the poor thermal stability and higher cost of production have restricted its industrial application.  This study focused on improving the stabilization of recombinant PLC by chemical modification with methoxypolyethylene glycol-Succinimidyl Succinate (SS-mPEG, MW 5000).  PLC gene from isolate Bacillus cereus HSL3 was fused with SUMO, a novel small ubiquitin-related modifier expression vector and over expressed in Escherichia coli.  The soluble fraction of SUMO-PLC reached 80% of the total recombinant protein.  The enzyme exhibited maximum catalytic activity at 80 °C and was relatively thermostable at 40-70 °C.  It showed extensive substrate specificity pattern and marked activity toward phosphatidylcholine, which made it a typical non-specific PLC for industrial purpose.  SS-mPEG-PLC complex exhibited an enhanced thermal stability at 70-80 °C and the catalytic efficiency (Kcat/Km) had increased by 3.03 folds compared with free PLC.  CD spectrum of SS-mPEG-PLC indicated a possible enzyme aggregation after chemical modification, which contributed to the higher thermostability of SS-mPEG-PLC.  The increase of antiparallel β sheets in secondary structure also made it more stable than parallel β sheets.  The presence of SS-mPEG chains on the enzyme molecule surface somewhat changed the binding rate of the substrates, leading to a significant improvement in catalytic efficiency.  This study provided an insight into the addition of SS-mPEG for enhancing the industrial applications of phospholipase C at higher temperature. Keywords: Enzymatic properties;  Phospholipase C;  Recombinant expression;  SS-mPEG modification;  Thermal stability and catalytic efficiency. Related products Abbreviation: mPEG-SS Name: Methoxypoly(ethylene glycol) succinimidyl succinate For more product information, please contact us at: US Tel: 1-844-782-5734 US Tel: 1-844-QUAL-PEG CHN Tel: 400-918-9898 Email: sales@sinopeg.com

ACS Nano.  2019 Sep 24;13(9):10419-10433.   doi: 10.1021/acsnano.9b04213.   Epub 2019 Aug 21. Codoping Enhanced Radioluminescence of Nanoscintillators for X-ray-Activated Synergistic Cancer Therapy and Prognosis Using Metabolomics Farooq Ahmad 1, Xiaoyan Wang 2, Zhao Jiang 1, Xujiang Yu 1, Xinyi Liu 1, Rihua Mao 3, Xiaoyuan Chen 4, Wanwan Li 1 Abstract Radio- and photodynamic therapies are the first line of cancer treatments but suffer from poor light penetration and less radiation accumulation in soft tissues with high radiation toxicity.   Therefore, a multifunctional nanoplatform with diagnosis-assisted synergistic radio- and photodynamic therapy and tools facilitating early prognosis are urgently needed to fight the war against cancer.   Further, integrating cancer therapy with untargeted metabolomic analysis would collectively offer clinical pertinence through facilitating early diagnosis and prognosis.   Here, we enriched scintillation of CeF3 nanoparticles (NPs) through codoping Tb3+ and Gd3+ (CeF3:Gd3+,Tb3+) for viable clinical approach in the treatment of deep-seated tumors.   The codoped CeF3:Gd3+,Tb3+ scintillating theranostic NPs were then coated with mesoporous silica, followed by loading with rose bengal (CGTS-RB) for later computed tomography (CT)- and magnetic resonance image (MRI)-guided X-ray stimulated synergistic radio- and photodynamic therapy (RT+XPDT) using low-dose, one-time X-ray irradiation.   The results corroborated an efficient tumor regression with synergistic RT+XPDT relative to single RT. Global untargeted metabolome shifts highlighted the mechanism behind this efficient tumor regression using RT, and synergistic RT+XPDT treatment is due to the starvation of nonessential amino acids involved in protein and DNA synthesis and energy regulation pathways necessary for growth and progression.   Our study also concluded that tumor and serum metabolites shift during disease progression and regression and serve as robust biomarkers for early assessment of disease state and prognosis.   From our results, we propose that codoping is an effective and extendable technique to other materials for gaining high optical yield and multifunctionality and for use in diagnostic and therapeutic applications.   Critically, the integration of multifunctional theranostic nanomedicines with metabolomics has excellent potential for the discovery of early metabolic biomarkers to aid in better clinical disease diagnosis and prognosis. Keywords: X-ray inducible photodynamic therapy;   codoped nanoscintillators;   imaging;   metabolomics;   radiotherapy. Related products Abbreviation: mPEG-SS Name: Methoxypoly(ethylene glycol) succinimidyl succinate For more product information, please contact us at: US Tel: 1-844-782-5734 US Tel: 1-844-QUAL-PEG CHN Tel: 400-918-9898 Email: sales@sinopeg.com