Mannosylated brush copolymers based on poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(ε-caprolactone) as multivalent lectin-binding nanomaterials

Stefania Ordanini; Wanda Celentano; Anna Bernardi; Francesco Cellesi

doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.212

Mannosylated brush copolymers based on poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(ε-caprolactone) as multivalent lectin-binding nanomaterials

Beilstein J Nanotechnol. 2019 Nov 7:10:2192-2206. doi: 10.3762/bjnano.10.212. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Stefania Ordanini¹, Wanda Celentano^{1

2}, Anna Bernardi³, Francesco Cellesi¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering "G. Natta", Politecnico di Milano, via Mancinelli 7, Milano 20131, Italy.
² Humanitas Research Hospital, Via Manzoni 56, Rozzano, Milano 20089, Italy.
³ Department of Chemistry, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Golgi 19, Milano 20133, Italy.

Abstract

A class of linear and four-arm mannosylated brush copolymers based on poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(ε-caprolactone) is presented here. The synthesis through ring-opening and atom transfer radical polymerizations provided high control over molecular weight and functionality. A post-polymerization azide-alkyne cycloaddition allowed for the formation of glycopolymers with different mannose valencies (1, 2, 4, and 8). In aqueous media, these macromolecules formed nanoparticles that were able to bind lectins, as investigated by concanavalin A binding assay. The results indicate that carbohydrate-lectin interactions can be tuned by the macromolecular architecture and functionality, hence the importance of these macromolecular properties in the design of targeted anti-pathogenic nanomaterials.

Keywords: atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP); glycopolymer; lectin; poly(ethylene glycol); poly(ε-caprolactone); ring-opening polymerization (ROP).