Low-Fouling Fluoropolymers for Bioconjugation and In Vivo Tracking

Changkui Fu; Baris Demir; Sheilajen Alcantara; Vinod Kumar; Felicity Han; Hannah G Kelly; Xiao Tan; Ye Yu; Weizhi Xu; Jiacheng Zhao; Cheng Zhang; Hui Peng; Cyrille Boyer; Trent M Woodruff; Stephen J Kent; Debra J Searles; Andrew K Whittaker

doi:10.1002/anie.201914119

Low-Fouling Fluoropolymers for Bioconjugation and In Vivo Tracking

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2020 Mar 16;59(12):4729-4735. doi: 10.1002/anie.201914119. Epub 2020 Feb 3.

Authors

Changkui Fu¹, Baris Demir², Sheilajen Alcantara³, Vinod Kumar⁴, Felicity Han⁴, Hannah G Kelly³, Xiao Tan¹, Ye Yu¹, Weizhi Xu⁴, Jiacheng Zhao¹, Cheng Zhang¹, Hui Peng¹, Cyrille Boyer⁵, Trent M Woodruff⁴, Stephen J Kent³, Debra J Searles², Andrew K Whittaker¹

Affiliations

¹ ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology and Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia.
² School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences and Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, 4072, Australia.
³ ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia.
⁴ School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia.
⁵ Centre for Advanced Macromolecular Design (CAMD) and Australian Centre for NanoMedicine (ACN), School of Chemical Engineering, UNSW Australia, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.

PMID: 31951063
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201914119

Abstract

The conjugation of hydrophilic low-fouling polymers to therapeutic molecules and particles is an effective approach to improving their aqueous stability, solubility, and pharmacokinetics. Recent concerns over the immunogenicity of poly(ethylene glycol) has highlighted the importance of identifying alternative low fouling polymers. Now, a new class of synthetic water-soluble homo-fluoropolymers are reported with a sulfoxide side-chain structure. The incorporation of fluorine enables direct imaging of the homopolymer by ¹⁹ F MRI, negating the need for additional synthetic steps to attach an imaging moiety. These self-reporting fluoropolymers show outstanding imaging sensitivity and remarkable hydrophilicity, and as such are a new class of low-fouling polymer for bioconjugation and in vivo tracking.

Keywords: 19F MRI; bioconjugation; in vivo tracking; low-fouling fluoropolymers; thermoresponsive materials.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Fluorine / chemistry
Halogenation
Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Models, Molecular
Molecular Structure
Polyethylene Glycols / chemical synthesis*
Polyethylene Glycols / chemistry
Solubility
Sulfoxides / chemistry*
Water / chemistry

Substances

Sulfoxides
Water
Fluorine
Polyethylene Glycols