Thermoresponsive diblock glycopolymer by RAFT polymerization for lectin recognition

Abstract A thermoresponsive double-hydrophilic diblock glycopolymer, poly(diethyl- eneglycol methacrylate)- block -poly(6- O -vinyladipoyl- d -glucose) (PDEGMA- b -POVAG), was successfully prepared by a combination of enzymatic synthesis and reversible addition-fragment chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization protocols using poly(diethyl- eneglycol methacrylate) (PDEGMA) as macro-RAFT agent. The block glycopolymer was characterized by 1 H NMR and GPC. UV–vis, DLS and TEM studies revealed that the glycopolymer PDEGMA- b -POVAG was thermoresponsive with LCST at 31.0 °C, and was able to self-assemble into spherical micelles of various sizes in aqueous solution. The glucose pendants in the glycopolymer could interact with the lectin Concanavalin A (Con A), the average hydrodynamic diameters of glycopolymer micelles increased to 170 nm from 110 nm after recognizing Con A. The diblock glycopolymer micelles have excellent biocompatibility with pig iliac endothelial cells, as measured using the MTT assay, but micelles loaded with Con A could be used to induce apoptosis in human hepatoma SMMC-7721 cells.