Spirocyclic Acetal-Modified Dextran as a Flexible pH-Sensitive Solubility-Switching Material

Biomacromolecules. 2019 May 13;20(5):2008-2014. doi: 10.1021/acs.biomac.9b00215. Epub 2019 Apr 15.

Abstract

Bioresponsive polymers can enable the development of more effective drug delivery vehicles and medical materials. Acetal-modified polysaccharides allow pH-triggered solubility switching in a versatile and effective manner, but prior work has been limited to a combination of acyclic alkoxyisopropyl and cyclic isopropylidene acetals. We describe here the preparation and characterization of spirocyclic acetal-modified dextran (SpAc-Dex), which comprises dextran decorated with cyclopentyl, cyclohexyl, or cycloheptyl acetals (SpAc5-, SpAc6-, and SpAc7-Dex, respectively). A library of materials with varying acyclic and cyclic acetal contents was synthesized, and organic-soluble materials were formed into microparticles and assessed for degradability and cytocompatibility. At high levels of modification, SpAc5-Dex degraded most quickly and SpAc7-Dex degraded most slowly. SpAc6-Dex features lower degrees of substitution but spans a wide range of degradability. These materials were found to be noncytotoxic and may find future use in biomedical applications.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • 3T3 Cells
  • Acetals / chemistry*
  • Animals
  • Dextrans / chemistry*
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Mice
  • Microspheres
  • Solubility
  • Stimuli Responsive Polymers / chemistry*

Substances

  • Acetals
  • Dextrans
  • Stimuli Responsive Polymers