A novel well-defined linear poly(ε-caprolactone) (P1) containing terminal azobenzene and ethyne groups was successfully synthesized through tin-catalyzed ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone in the presence of N,N′-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)-4-(3ethynylphenylazo)aniline (BHA) in bulk. Subsequent reactions allowed the synthesis of the corresponding bromoester end-functionalized polymer (P2), w...

Poly (ε-caprolactone), (PCL) or simply polycaprolactone as it is usually referred to, is a synthetic biodegradable aliphatic polyester which has attracted considerable attention in recent years, notably in the biomedical areas of controlled-release drug delivery systems, absorbable surgical sutures, nerve guides, and three-dimensional (3-D) scaffolds, for use in tissue engineering. Various poly...

Increased expression of cellular membrane bound glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) is considered to be one of the biomarkers for gastric cancers. Therefore, peptides or molecules with specific recognition to GRP78 can act as a guiding probe to direct conjugated imaging agents to localized cancers. Based on this rationale, GRP78-guided polymeric micelles were designed and manufactured for nucl...

Mammalian central nervous system (CNS) neurons do not regenerate after injury due to the inhibitory environment formed by the glial scar, largely constituted by myelin debris. The use of biomaterials to bridge the lesion area and the creation of an environment favoring axonal regeneration is an appealing approach, currently under investigation. This work aimed at assessing the suitability of th...

Amphiphilic block copolymers have attracted a great deal of attention in drug delivery systems. In this work, a series of monomethoxy-poly (ethylene glycol)-poly (ε-caprolactone-co-D,L-lactide) (MPEG-PCLA) copolymers with variable composition of poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly (D,L-lactide) (PDLLA) were prepared via ring-opening copolymerization of ε-CL and D,L-LA in the presence of MPEG a...

Zwitterionic polymers have unique features, such as good compatibility, and show promise in the application of drug delivery. In this study, the zwitterionic copolymers, poly(ε-caprolactone)-b-poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) with disulfide (PCL-ss-PMPC) or poly(ε-caprolactone)-b-poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) or without disulfide (PCL-PMPC) and with different bloc...

Nanofibrous scaffolds produced by electrospinning have attracted much attention, recently. Aligned and random nanofibrous scaffolds of poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA), poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and nanohydroxyapatite  (nHA) were fabricated by electrospinning method in this study. The composite nanofibrous scaffolds were subjected to detailed analysis. Morphological investigations revealed that the...

biodegradable nanoparticles for aerosol therapy based on the branched polyesters, DEAPA-PVAL-g-PLGA. Pharm Res 2003; 20: 2011–2020. 17 Grenha A, Seijo B, Remunan-Lopez C. Microencapsulated chitosan nanoparticles for lung protein delivery. Eur J Pharm Sci 2005; 25: 427–437. 18 Shi LJ, Plumley CJ, Berkland C. Biodegradable nanoparticle flocculates for dry powder aerosol formulation. Langmuir 2007...