Novel amphiphilic triblock copolymer based on PPDO, PCL, and PEG: Synthesis, characterization, and aqueous dispersion

Amphiphilic triblock copolymer, poly(p-dioxanone-co-caprolactone)-block-poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(p-dioxanone-co-caprolactone) (PPDO-co-PCL-b-PEO-b-PPDO-co-PCL) was synthesized by ring opening polymerization (ROP) of p-dioxanone and ɛ-caprolactone initiated through the hydroxyl end of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) in the presence of stannous 2-ethyl hexanoate [Sn(oct)2] as a catalyst. Polymerization and structural features of the polymers were analyzed by different physicochemical techniques (GPC, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, FT-IR, DSC and TGA). The splitting of 1H NMR resonance at δ 2.3 and δ 4.1 ppm reveals the random copolymerization. Polymeric nanoparticles were prepared in phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) by co-solvent evaporation technique at room temperature (25 °C). Existence of hydrophobic domains as cores of the micelles were characterized by 1H NMR spectroscopy and further confirmed with fluorescence technique using pyrene as a probe. Critical micelle concentration (CMC) of the polymer in phosphate buffer (pH. 7.4) was decreased from 2.3 × 10−3 to 7.6 × 10−4 g/L with the fraction of PCL. Polymeric nanoparticles observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) were uniform and spherical, with smooth textured of around 50–30 nm diameter. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and electrophoretic light scattering (ELS) measurements showed a monodisperse size distribution of around 113–90 nm hydrodynamic diameters and negative zeta (ζ) potential (−4 to −14 mV), respectively. The investigations for the polymeric nanoparticles in aqueous medium showed that the composition of the hydrophobic segment of amphiphilic block copolymer makes a significant influence on its physicochemical characteristics.