The Polymer Society of Korea

Abstract

Polyoxazolines possess great potential for smart biomaterials due to their high tunability in physicochemical properties and reduced immunogenicity compared to the commonly used polyethylene glycol (PEG). Among many advantages, we focus on polyoxazolines with tunable surface activity to derive surfactant nanoparticles that can treat dysfunctional lungs. We explore the characteristics of polyoxazolines with ethyl and isopropyl side-chains and their copolymers. Then we examine amphiphilic diblock copolymers comprising poly(isopropyl-ran-ethyl) oxazoline (PiPEOx) block. The quality of amphiphilic self-assembly depended on the miscibility between PiPEOx and the hydrophobic block as well as the (absence of) crystallinity of PiPEOx. The optimized self-assembled micelles exhibit good aqueous stability and preference to adsorption at air/water interfaces, which marks PiPEOx as a key component for potential biomaterials targeting respiratory distress syndromes.