Design and Preparation of Lifetime-Based Dual Fluorescent/Phosphorescent Sensor of pH and Oxygen and its Exploration in Model Physiological Solutions and Cells.

In the present report, a novel dual pH-O2 sensor based on covalent conjugate of rhodamine 6G and cyclometalated iridium complex with poly(vinylpyrrolidone-block-vinyltetrazole) copolymer is reported. In model physiological solutions the sensor chromophores display independent phosphorescent and fluorescent lifetime responses onto variations in oxygen concentration and pH, respectively. Colocalization studies on Chinese hamster ovary cells demonstrate the preferential localization in endosomes and lysosomes. The fluorescent lifetime imaging microscopy-phosphorescent lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM-PLIM) experiments show that the phosphorescent O2 sensor provides unambiguous information onto hypoxia versus normoxia cell status as well as semi-quantitative data on the oxygen concentration in cells in between these two states. However, the results of FLIM measurements indicate that dynamic lifetime interval of the sensor (≈0.5 ns between pH values 5.0 and 8.0) is insufficient even for qualitative estimation of pH in living cells because half-width of lifetime distribution in the studied samples is higher than the sensor dynamic interval. Nevertheless, the variations in rhodamine emission intensity are much higher and allow rough discrimination of acidic and neutral cell conditions. Thus, the results of this study indicate that the suggested approach to the design of dual pH-O2 sensors makes possible to prepare the biocompatible and water-soluble conjugate with fast cellular uptake.

RAFT Hydroxylated Polymers as Templates and Ligands for the Synthesis of Fluorescent ZnO Quantum Dots.

The remarkable photoluminescent properties, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and antibacterial properties of zinc oxide quantum dots (ZnO QDs) coupled with their low cost and nanoscale size guarantee bio-related and technological applications. However, the effect of the polymeric ligand during synthesis has hardly been investigated compared to other less environmentally friendly QDs. Thus, the objective of this work was to focus on the synthesis of fluorescent hybrid ZnO QDs by the sol-gel method using different polymers with hydroxyl groups as templates and ligands to obtain stable particles in different media. For this purpose, well-defined hydroxylated statistical polymers and block copolymers were synthesized using reversible-addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization to establish the influence of molecular weight, hydrophobic/hydrophilic balance, and polymer architecture on the colloidal and photophysical properties of the synthesized hybrid ZnO QDs. Dynamic light scattering (DLS), TEM, and X-ray diffraction measurements indicated the formation of stable nanoparticles of a few nanometers. A remarkable enhancement in terms of fluorescence was observed when ZnO QDs were synthesized in the presence of the hydroxylated homopolymers and even more so with block copolymers architecture. Organosilanes combined with the hydroxylated polymers were used to improve the colloidal stability of ZnO QDs in aqueous media. These samples exhibited uniform and stable enhanced photoluminescence for nearly five months of being investigated. Among other applications, the hybrid ZnO QDs synthesized in this work exhibit high selectivity to detect Cr6+, Fe2+, or Cu2+ in water.

RAFT polymers for protein recognition.

A new family of linear polymers with pronounced affinity for arginine- and lysine-rich proteins has been created. To this end, N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) was copolymerized in water with a binding monomer and a hydrophobic comonomer using a living radical polymerization (RAFT). The resulting copolymers were water-soluble and displayed narrow polydispersities. They formed tight complexes with basic proteins depending on the nature and amount of the binding monomer as well as on the choice of the added hydrophobic comonomer.

Modifying Cell Membranes with Anionic Polymer Amphiphiles Potentiates Intracellular Delivery of Cationic Peptides.

Rapid, facile, and noncovalent cell membrane modification with alkyl-grafted anionic polymers was sought as an approach to enhance intracellular delivery and bioactivity of cationic peptides. We synthesized a library of acrylic acid-based copolymers containing varying amounts of an amine-reactive pentafluorophenyl acrylate monomer followed by postpolymerization modification with a series of alkyl amines to afford precise control over the length and density of aliphatic alkyl side chains. This synthetic strategy enabled systematic investigation of the effect of the polymer structure on membrane binding, potentiation of peptide cell uptake, pH-dependent disruption of lipid bilayers for endosome escape, and intracellular bioavailability. A subset of these polymers exhibited pKa of ∼6.8, which facilitated stable membrane association at physiological pH and rapid, pH-dependent endosomal disruption upon endocytosis as quantified in Galectin-8-YFP reporter cells. Cationic cell penetrating peptide (CPP) uptake was enhanced up to 15-fold in vascular smooth muscle cells in vitro when peptide treatment was preceded by a 30-min pretreatment with lead candidate polymers. We also designed and implemented a new and highly sensitive assay for measuring the intracellular bioavailability of CPPs based on the NanoLuciferase (NanoLuc) technology previously developed for measuring intracellular protein-protein interactions. Using this split luciferase class of assay, polymer pretreatment enhanced intracellular delivery of the CPP-modified HiBiT peptide up to 30-fold relative to CPP-HiBiT without polymer pretreatment (p < 0.05). The overall structural analyses show that polymers containing 50:50 or 70:30 molar ratios of carboxyl groups to alkyl side chains of 6-8 carbons maximized peptide uptake, pH-dependent membrane disruption, and intracellular bioavailability and that this potentiation effect was maximized by pairing with CPPs with high cationic charge density. These results demonstrate a rapid, mild method for polymer modification of cell surfaces to potentiate intracellular delivery, endosome escape, and bioactivity of cationic peptides.

PEGylated Anionic Magnetofluorescent Nanoassemblies: Impact of Their Interface Structure on Magnetic Resonance Imaging Contrast and Cellular Uptake.

Controlling the interactions of functional nanostructures with water and biological media represents high challenges in the field of bioimaging applications. Large contrast at low doses, high colloidal stability in physiological conditions, the absence of cell cytotoxicity, and efficient cell internalization represent strong additional needs. To achieve such requirements, we report on high-payload magnetofluorescent architectures made of a shell of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles tightly anchored around fluorescent organic nanoparticles. Their external coating is simply modulated using anionic polyelectrolytes in a final step to provide efficient magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and fluorescence imaging of live cells. Various structures of PEGylated polyelectrolytes have been synthesized and investigated, differing from their iron oxide complexing units (carboxylic vs phosphonic acid), their structure (block- or comblike), their hydrophobicity, and their fabrication process [conventional or reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT)-controlled radical polymerization] while keeping the central magnetofluorescent platforms the same. Combined photophysical, magnetic, NMRD, and structural investigations proved the superiority of RAFT polymer coatings containing carboxylate units and a hydrophobic tail to impart the magnetic nanoassemblies (NAs) with enhanced-MRI negative contrast, characterized by a high r2/r1 ratio and a transverse relaxation r2 equal to 21 and 125 s-1 mmol-1 L, respectively, at 60 MHz clinical frequency (∼1.5 T). Thanks to their dual modality, cell internalization of the NAs in mesothelioma cancer cells could be evidenced by both confocal fluorescence microscopy and magnetophoresis. A 72 h follow-up showed efficient uptake after 24 h with no notable cell mortality. These studies again pointed out the distinct behavior of RAFT polyelectrolyte-coated bimodal NAs that internalize at a slower rate with no adverse cytotoxicity. Extension to multicellular tumor cell spheroids that mimic solid tumors revealed the successful internalization of the NAs in the periphery cells, which provides efficient deep-imaging labels thanks to their induced T2* contrast, large emission Stokes shift, and bright dotlike signal, popping out of the strong spheroid autofluorescence.

Polymeric nanostructures with pH-labile core for controlled drug release.

Efficient and stimuli-triggered controlled delivery of therapeutics is one of the important issues in modern advanced therapy. In the present work, a versatile route for the synthesis of core cross-linked polymeric nanostructures (CLPN) through thiol-acrylate Michael addition reaction via the formation of ß-thiopropionate has been described. The acid groups of the poly(acrylic acid) block of poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-b-poly(acrylic acid) triblock copolymer were reacted with 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA) to yield the corresponding acrylate-functionalized copolymer (P1). Following this, P1 was reacted with a thiol functionalized cross-linker (CL) resulting in the formation of core cross-linked polymeric nanoparticles through acrylate-thiol Michael reaction. The ability of these nanoparticles to encapsulate drug molecules inside their core and their effective release following a pH-triggered controlled degradation of the core were demonstrated. The temperature sensitive release behaviour of the system was also studied. The non-toxic nature of the precursor polymers and the core cross-linked polymeric nanoparticles was also established, that further substantiated their potential as carriers for controlled release of drugs.