Thermoresponsive polysarcosine-based nanoparticles

Polysarcosine holds great promise as an alternative to poly(ethylene glycol) for use within both biomedical and non-biomedical applications owing to its hydrophilicity and non-cytoxicity, amongst other features. The grafting of a limited quantity of (N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide) to polysarcosine, for instance 3.5% of the total copolymer in terms of the number of repeat units, has a profound effect on the properties of the copolymer formed; polymer self-assembly to yield thermoreponsive nanoparticles can now be realised. Such nanoparticles are non-cytotoxic against a range of human breast cancer cell lines, able to withhold the therapeutic compound doxorubicin, and allow pronounced doxorubicin release in response to subtle thermal stimulation. This research informs of how the straightforward modification of polysarcosine with a nominal molar amount of poly(N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide) can yield stimuli-responsive polymers that are suitable for use within controlled release applications.