Concentration‐driven morphology change of a self‐aggregated amino acid‐inspired fluorescence‐active copolymer for sustained release of hydrophobic drug

Abstract

AbstractThe development of amphiphiles for sustained drug delivery represents a promising approach in biomedical fields. Polymeric self‐assembly with a hydrophobic core offers plenty of opportunities to encapsulate hydrophobic drugs for facilitating targeted delivery to the specific sites of action. Herein, N‐Boc tryptophan has been used to develop a hydrophobic monomer, Boc‐tryptophan‐HEMA (HBT). The HBT monomer has further been grafted on modified alginic acid through the RAFT technique to synthesize a unique amphiphilic copolymer with fluorescence characteristics. The advanced polymer chromatography demonstrates a narrow distribution curve, signifying the living nature of polymerization. The copolymer has exhibited self‐aggregation behavior with two distinct shapes at two different critical aggregation concentrations (CAC). The concentration‐dependent shape variation has been investigated using FESEM and TEM analyses, further supported by a small‐angle x‐ray scattering analysis. The self‐aggregation behavior of the copolymer facilitates the uptake of a model hydrophobic drug (naproxen) and its release in a sustained manner with varied rates at two different concentrations.