Immunomodulatory efficiency of poly(2-oxazolines).

Poly(2-oxazolines) represent promising polymer materials for biomedical applications. The activation of mouse lymphoid macrophage line P388.D1 (clone 3124) by two selected representatives of poly(2-oxazolines), namely poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PETOX100) and poly[2-(4-aminophenyl)-2-oxazoline-co-2-ethyl-2-oxazoline] (AEOX10), was assessed in vitro. The immunomodulatory efficacy of both polymers was evaluated via the induced release of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1α and IL-6) and the acceleration of reactive free radicals. The present study revealed effective structure-immunomodulating associations of AEOX10 and PETOX100, which are desirable in biomedical and pharmaceutical applications of aliphatic and aromatic poly (2-oxazolines) in vivo.

In vitro bio-immunological and cytotoxicity studies of poly(2-oxazolines).

Poly(2-oxazolines) with varying alkyl chain lengths (e.g., methyl, ethyl, aryl) and molar masses have been tested for cell cytotoxicity in vitro. A standard 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used for the estimation of cell viability. Two monomers, 2-methyl-2-oxazoline and 2-ethyl-2-oxazoline, were found to provide polymers with non-cytotoxic properties. The dependence of cell viability on molar mass confirmed the expected trend; the viability increased with the higher molar mass of poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PETOX), up to 15,000 g/mol. The results obtained for the polymers with aliphatic side chains were compared with the analogues that possessed an aromatic moiety. All results confirmed low cytotoxicity of the polymers prepared by cationic polymerization of 2-alkyl- and 2-aryl-2-oxazolines, which supports their utilization in biomedical applications. Fluorescence microscopy and steady-state fluorescence were used to observe pyrene-labeled polymer interactions with living cells. Polymer accumulated within the cells was found to be dependent on polymer concentration in media. The immunoefficiency of aromatic and aliphatic oxazoline polymers and copolymers was also studied. Phagocytic and metabolic activities of macrophages were used to assess the immunosuppressive effects of the selected copolymers for possible applications in drug delivery and immunobiology. Overall, the tested polymers demonstrated no significant influences on the cellular immunological parameters.

2-(2-Oxazolin-2-yl)benzene-1,4-diol: X-ray and density functional theory studies.

In the crystal structure of the title compound, C(9)H(9)NO(3), there are strong intramolecular O-H...N and intermolecular O-H...O hydrogen bonds which, together with weak intermolecular C-H...O hydrogen bonds, lead to the formation of infinite chains of molecules. The calculated intermolecular hydrogen-bond energies are -11.3 and -2.7 kJ mol(-1), respectively, showing the dominant role of the O-H...O hydrogen bonding. A natural bond orbital analysis revealed the electron contribution of the lone pairs of the oxazoline N and O atoms, and of the two hydroxy O atoms, to the order of the relevant bonds.

2-(4-Hydroxyphenyl)-4,4-dimethyl-2-oxazoline: X-ray and density functional theory study.

In the crystal structure of the title compound, C(11)H(13)NO(2), there are strong intermolecular O-H...N hydrogen bonds which, together with weak intramolecular C-H...O hydrogen bonds, lead to the formation of infinite chains of molecules, held together by weak intermolecular C-H...O hydrogen bonds. A theoretical investigation of the hydrogen bonding, based on density functional theory (DFT) employing periodic boundary conditions, is in agreement with the experimental data. The cluster approach shows that the influence of the crystal field and of hydrogen-bond formation are responsible for the deformation of the 2-oxazoline ring, which is not planar and adopts a (4)T(3) ((C3)T(C2)) conformation.

Three isomeric forms of hydroxyphenyl-2-oxazoline: 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-2-oxazoline, 2-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-2-oxazoline and 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-oxazoline.

Crystal structures are reported for three isomeric compounds, namely 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-2-oxazoline, (I), 2-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-2-oxazoline, (II), and 2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-oxazoline, (III), all C9H9NO2 [systematic names: 2-(4,5-dihydro-1,3-oxazol-2-yl)phenol, (I), 3-(4,5-dihydro-1,3-oxazol-2-yl)phenol, (II), and 4-(4,5-dihydro-1,3-oxazol-2-yl)phenol, (III)]. In these compounds, the deviation from coplanarity of the oxazoline and benzene rings is dependent on the position of the hydroxy group on the benzene ring. The coplanar arrangement in (I) is stabilized by a strong intramolecular O-H...N hydrogen bond. Surprisingly, the 2-oxazoline ring in molecule B of (II) adopts a 3T4 (C2TC3) conformation, while the 2-oxazoline ring in molecule A, as well as that in (I) and (III), is nearly planar, as expected. Tetramers of molecules of (II) are formed and they are bound together via weak C-H...N hydrogen bonds. In (III), strong intermolecular O-H...N hydrogen bonds and weak intramolecular C-H...O hydrogen bonds lead to the formation of an infinite chain of molecules perpendicular to the b direction. This paper also reports a theoretical investigation of hydrogen bonds, based on density functional theory (DFT) employing periodic boundary conditions.