Propolis has well-known antimicrobial activity as well as antioxidant, antitumoral, anti-inflammatory, and regenerative properties, but its effects on the immune response are not well understood. Furthermore, clinical application of this relatively efficacious agent in cancer and other diseases has been limited due to poor aqueous solubility and, consequently, minimal systemic bioavailability. ...

We tuned the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of amphiphilic poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) via copolymerization with a hydrophilic comonomer of N-hydroxymethyl acrylamide (NHMAAm). A series of copolymers P(NIPAAm-co-NHMAAm) were synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) using CuBr/(N,N,N',N',N''-Pentamethyldiethylenetriamine) (PMDETA) as a catalyst system and ...

We report a polymeric micelle drug delivery system, which enables selective intracellular uptake with external thermal stimulation, and effective release of a drug at internal acidic endosomal pH. We developed a dual temperatureand pH-responsive polymeric micelle composed of a temperatureresponsive corona segment with poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-dimethylacrylamide) [P(NIPAAm-coDMAAm)] and a p...

Polymers that respond to small changes in environmental stimuli with large, sometimes discontinuous changes in their physical state or properties, are often called "smart" polymers. Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), PNIPAAm, is one of the most representative smart polymer that exhibits a thermally reversible soluble-insoluble change in the vicinity of its lower critical solution temperature (LCST) a...

Thermo-responsive brush copolymers poly(methyl methacrylate (MMA)-co-2-(2-bromoisobutyryloxy) ethyl methacrylate (BIEM)-graft-(N-isopropyl-acrylamide) (NIPAAm)) were synthesized using Cumediated “living” radical polymerization (LRP) approach. Varied grafting densities of the brushes were obtained through adjusting backbone structure as random, gradient and block respectively. The effect of graf...

Osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) is guided by various physical and biochemical factors. Among these factors, modulus (i.e., rigidiy) of the ECM has gained significant attention as a physical osteoinductive signal that can contribute to endochondral ossification of a cartilaginous skeletal template. However, MSCs also participate in intramembranous bone formatio...

The main method for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is percutaneous coronary intervention; however percutaneous coronary intervention will induce ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury, resulting in the loss of cardiac function and cardiomyocyte death. An effective drug to target this condition is necessary. N-isopropylacrylamide and methacrylic acid were used to synthesize drug de...