Term of Award

Spring 2025

Degree Name

Master of Science in Applied Physical Science (M.S.)

Document Type and Release Option

Thesis (restricted to Georgia Southern)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Committee Chair

James Carter

Committee Member 1

Shainaz Landge

Committee Member 2

Marshall Ming

Abstract

Polymers are versatile compounds, capable of exhibiting a wide array of characteristics based on their constituents. As such, polymers are a highly favorable starting point for the development of advanced drug delivery systems. Polymers such as those used in this research, like PLA, PCL, and mPEG, are biocompatible and display a range of physical characteristics that allow them to serve as potential drug carriers in specific applications. The main strategy for utilizing polymers as drug carriers is micelle formation. When two polymers are joined, in which a longer polymer chain is formed, a unique polymer configuration known as a di-block is formed. A di-block polymer can be formed using a hydrophilic polymer and a hydrophobic polymer, creating a chain that can readily form a micelle in aqueous solution. In the case of a polymer containing three chain distinctions, a tri-block is formed. In the presence of drug compounds in the aqueous solution, the micelle formation envelopes the drug and acts as a carrier, waiting for dissociation to release it. When the polymer chains are swapped, adjusted, modified, or functionalized with addition substituents, the micelles that they create have different stabilities which allows them to remain stable in some environments while dissociating in others based on factors such as the hydrophobic/hydrophilic effect and pH. In this research, that concept is explored though the synthesis and characterization of various polymeric micellar nanoparticles of di-block, tri-block, and functional nature. mPEG-PLA, mPEG-PCL, mPEG-PCL-mPEG, and functional mPEG-PCL derivatives were all synthesized and examined for their potential as promising micellar drug carriers. Amino acids were the target in this research as functional additions to the mPEG-PCL di-block due to their specificity within biological systems as an alternative to simple pH responsiveness. Paired with Dragmacidin derivative drug compounds, bis-indole and bis-adenine, the di-block, tri-block, and functional polymeric micellar nanoparticles were examined based on their drug loading and drug release efficiencies.

Research Data and Supplementary Material

No

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