A hyperbranched polymer for encapsulation and release of guest molecules

Abstract

A hyperbranched polymer (HBPO-PCL) consisting of a hyperbranched polyether (HBPO) inner core and biodegradable poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) shell was synthesized and used as the host for molecular encapsulation. A water-soluble dye (acid orange 7, AO 7) was selected as the corresponding guest molecule. Due to the hyperbranched structures and inner polar core, the hyperbranched polymer can be used as phase-transfer agent for reversible encapsulation and release of AO 7. The skeleton of these polymers played an important role in the procedure of guest-encapsulation. The effect of pH on phase-transfer performance and release behaviors were mainly investigated and examined in a in vitro simulated synthetic body fluids. Thus, this co-polymer system should be an attractive candidate for drug-delivery systems in aqueous media and could provide the phase-transfer carriers between water and organic media. © 2009 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden.