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The investigation and clarification of the photoinitiation mechanism of novel systems are of importance for the design and development of compounds with high photoinitiation efficiency of photopolymerization. Some disubstituted aminoanthraquinone derivatives have been reported to exhibit interesting photochemical/photophysical properties and have the potential to act as high performance multicolor photoinitiators under the irradiation of various wavelengths of visible light from light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Herein, three disubstituted aminoanthraquinone derivatives, i.e., 1-amino-4-hydroxyanthraquinone, 1,4-diaminoanthraquinone, and 1,5-diaminoanthraquinone, with iodonium salt and N-vinylcarbazole as additives, have been investigated. Their photoinitiation mechanism was studied using fluorescence spectroscopy, laser flash photolysis, steady state photolysis, computational quantum chemistry, and electron spin resonance spin trapping techniques. Then, their photoinitiation ability for the cationic photopolymerization of epoxide and divinyl ether monomers under the irradiation of diverse LEDs (i.e., blue, green, yellow, and red LEDs) was investigated. The types and positions of substituents were found to play a vital role in the photoreactivity and photoinitiation ability of the disubstituted aminoanthraquinone derivative-based photoinitiating systems.

The development of highly efficient and rapid photoinitiating systems for free radical photopolymerization under the irradiation of visible light has attracted increasing attention due to their widespread potential applications in, for example, 3D printing or dental polymers. Unfortunately, currently available visible-light-sensitive photoinitiators are not efficient enough for 3D printing applications suffering from low printing speeds. Here we describe a series of photoinitiating systems consisting of disubstituted aminoanthraquinone derivatives (i.e., 1-amino-4-hydroxyanthraquinone, 1,4-diaminoanthraquinone, and 1,5-diaminoanthraquinone) and various additives (e.g., tertiary amine and phenacyl bromide) toward the free radical photopolymerization of various acrylate monomers (such as commercial 3D resin) under the irradiation of blue to red LEDs. It is shown that the type and position of substituents of the aminoanthraquinone derivative can significantly affect its photoinitiation properties. The most efficient disubstituted aminoanthraquinone derivative-based photoinitiating system was selected and used for the 3D printing of a commercial 3D resin in a 3D printer with polychromatic visible light as the irradiation source. It is shown that its printing speed was dramatically enhanced compared to a commercial photoinitiator 2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyldiphenylphosphine oxide (TPO).

We introduce the light-induced collapse of single glycopolymer chains in water generating fluorescent glyco single chain nanoparticles (SCNPs) and their subsequent functionalization onto nanodiamonds. The glycopolymer precursors are prepared by polymerizing an acetylated mannose-based methacrylate monomer followed by a deprotection and postpolymerization functionalization step, introducing profluorescent photo active tetrazole groups and furan-protected maleimide moieties. Subsequent UV irradiation in highly diluted aqueous solution triggers intramolecular tetrazole-mediated cycloadditions, yielding glyco SCNPs featuring fluorescence as well as lectin binding properties. The obtained SCNPs are coated onto nanodiamonds by adsorption, and the obtained hybrid nanoparticles are in depth characterized in terms of size, functionality, and bioactivity. Different coating densities are achieved by altering the SCNP concentration. The prepared nanoparticles are nontoxic in mouse RAW 264.7 macrophages. Furthermore, the fluorescence of the SCNPs can be exploited to image the SCNP-coated nanodiamonds in macrophage cells via confocal fluorescence microscopy.

Well-defined carboxyl end-functionalized glycopolymer Poly(1-O-methacryloyl-2,3:4,5-di-O-isopropylidene-beta-D-fructopyranose) (Poly-(1-O-MAipFru)(62)) has been prepared via reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer polymerization and grafted onto the surface of amine-functionalized nanodiamonds via a simple conjugation reaction. The properties of the nanodiamond polymer hybrid materials ND-Poly(1-O-MAFru)(62) are investigated using infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, dynamic light scattering, and transmission electron microscopy. The dispersibility of the nanodiamonds in aqueous solutions is significantly improved after the grafting of the glycopolymer. More interestingly, the cytotoxicity of amine-functionalized nanodiamonds is significantly decreased after decoration with the glycopolymer even at a high concentration (125 mu g/mL). The nanodiamonds were loaded with doxorubicin to create a bioactive drug delivery carrier. The release of doxorubicin was faster in media of pH 5 than media of pH 7.4. The nanodiamond drug delivery systems with doxorubicin are used to treat breast cancer cells in 2D and 3D models. Although the 2D cell culture results indicate that all nanodiamonds doxorubicin complexes are significantly less toxic than free doxorubicin, the glycopolymer-coated nanodiamonds doxorubicin show higher cytotoxicity than free doxorubicin in the 3D spheroids after treatment for 8 days. The enhanced cytotoxicity of Poly(1-O-MAFru)(62)-ND-Dox in 3D spheroids may result from the sustained drug release and deep penetration of these nanocarriers, which play a role as a "Trojan Horse". The massive cell death after 8-day incubation with Poly(1-P-MAFru)(62)-ND-Dox demonstrates that glycopolymer-coated nanodiamonds can be promising, platforms for breast cancer therapy.

The biodistribution of micelles with and without folic acid targeting ligands were studied using a block copolymer consisting of acrylic acid (AA) and polyethylene glycol methyl ether acrylate (PEGMEA) blocks. The polymers were prepared using RAFT polymerization in the presence of a folic acid functionalized RAFT agent. Oxoplatin was conjugated onto the acrylic acid block to form amphiphilic polymers which, when diluted in water, formed stable micelles. In order to probe the in vivo stability, a selection of micelles were cross-linked using 1,8-diamino octane. The sizes of the micelles used in this study range between 75 and 200 nm, with both spherical and worm-like conformation. The effects of cross-linking, folate conjugation and different conformation on the biodistribution were studied in female nude mice (BALB/c) following intravenous injection into the tail vein. Using optical imaging to monitor the fluorophore-labeled polymer, the in vivo biodistribution of the micelles was monitored over a 48 h time-course after which the organs were removed and evaluated ex vivo. These experiments showed that both cross-linking and conjugation with folic acid led to increased fluorescence intensities in the organs, especially in the liver and kidneys, while micelles that are not conjugated with folate and not cross-linked are cleared rapidly from the body. Higher accumulation in the spleen, liver, and kidneys was also observed for micelles with worm-like shapes compared to the spherical micelles. While the various factors of cross-linking, micelle shape, and conjugation with folic acid all contribute separately to prolong the circulation time of the micelle, optimization of these parameters for drug delivery devices could potentially overcome adverse effects such as liver and kidney toxicity.

Enhanced spin capturing polymerization (ESCP) constitutes a versatile method for controlling the molecular weights during free radical macromolecular growth. The methodology employs nitrones as controlling agents, which are incorporated as alkoxyamines into the macromolecules in a midchain position (Ri-NO-Rj). It is demonstrated;via both simulations and experiments;that if the radical initiator and the nitrone are judiciously chosen, midchain functionalizations of over 90% can be achieved. Macromolecules with a nitroxide position in the midchain position can be employed in subsequent nitroxide mediated polymerizations to prepare ABA-type block copolymers. It is demonstrated that high yields of midchain macroalkoxyamine are generated as long as the employed nitrone displays low primary radical addition (governed by the addition rate coefficient k ad) in combination with a relatively rapid chain growth initiation rate (characterized by the primary radical initiation rate coefficient, k i). The absolute value of kad appears to be unproblematic for the success of Ri-NO-Rj formation by ESCP. In addition, it is of relatively high importance to employ a large nitrone concentration to achieve high degrees of Ri-NO-R j. The structure of ESCP prepared polystyrenes was confirmed (among other approaches) via thermally cleaving the Ri-NO-R j species and a subsequent quenching of the reaction to obtain a high yield of the individual arm species of half the length of the macroalkoxyamine. © 2009 American Chemical Society.

The combination of RAFT chemistry and hetero-Diels-Alder (HDA) cycloaddition provides a convenient conjugation tool for the construction of macromolecular architectures. The actual conjugation linkage, which is formed in the RAFT HDA approach, consists of a 3,6-dihydro-2H-thiopyran ring. Herein, a careful study into the stability of polymer linked by 3,6-dihydro-2H-thiopyran rings under different thermal and pH conditions is performed. As polymeric model system, a 3,6-dihydro-2H-thiopyran functionalized poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) obtained after a HDA cycloaddition between a diene functionalized PEG and 1-phenylethyl (diethoxyphosphoryl)dithioformate or 1-phenylethyl pyridin-2-yldithioformate is used. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) is employed to map the generated products. The stability tests under thermal conditions showed for the diethoxyphosphoryl derivative the preservation of the polymer end-groups after 24 h at temperatures up to 80°C. At higher temperatures degradation reactions of the 3,6-dihydro-2H-thiopyran ring including the retro HDA reaction occurred. A complete fragmentation was observed after 24 h at 160°C. The pyridinyl derivative was found to be slightly more temperature stable since its structure was unaffected at conditions up to 24 h at 120°C and full cleavage was only observed after 24 h at 180°C. In this case the fragmentation mechanism occurred exclusively via the retro HDA reaction and the resulting diene functionalized polymer was the only detected product species. Both conjugates showed an excellent stability toward hydrolysis in aqueous media under strong acidic (0.1 and 1 M HCL) and strong basic (0.1 and 1 M NaOH) conditions. © 2008 American Chemical Society.

We report the use of copolymers synthesized with specific block ratios of weakly and strongly charged groups for the preparation of stable, pH-responsive multilayers. In this study, we utilized reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization in the synthesis of novel pH-sensitive copolymers comprising block domains of acrylic acid (AA) and styrene sulfonate (SS) groups. The PAAX-b-SSy copolymers, containing 37%, 55%, and 73% of AA groups by mass (denoted as PAA37-b-SS63, PAA55-b-SS45, and PAA73-b-SS27, respectively), were utilized to perform stepwise multilayer assembly in alternation with poly(allylamine hydrochloride), PAH. The ratio of AA to SS groups, and the effect of the pH of both anionic and cationic adsorption solutions, on multilayer properties, were investigated using ellipsometry and atomic force microscopy. The presence of SS moieties in the PAA X-b-SSy copolymers, regardless of the precise composition, lead to films with a relatively consistent thickness. Exposure of these multilayers to acidic conditions postassembly revealed that these multilayers do not exhibit the characteristic large swelling that occurs with PAA/PAH films. The film stability was attributed to the presence of strongly charged SS groups. PAAx-b-SSy/PAH films were also formed on particle substrates under various adsorption conditions. Microelectrophoresis measurements revealed that the surface charge and isoelectric point of these core-shell particles are dependent on assembly pH and the proportion of AA groups in PAAx-b-SSy. These core-shell particles can be used as precursors to hollow capsules that incorporate weak polyelectrolyte functionality. The role of AA groups in determining the growth profile of these capsules was also examined. The multilayer films prepared may find applications in areas where pH-responsive films are required but large film swelling is unfavorable. © 2008 American Chemical Society.