Self-assembled stimuli-responsive polyrotaxane core-shell particles

Abstract

Thermodynamically assembled core-shell nanocarriers are potential candidates for drug delivery applications due to their submicrometer size and the ability to load drugs into their hydrophobic core. Herein, we describe the formation of core-shell particles that consist of noncovalent polymers, that is, polyrotaxanes (PRXs), that form an α-cyclodextrin (αCD) core surrounded by a corona of low-fouling poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). The PRX core-shell particles are able to sequester small organic molecules, such as pyrene and calcein, releasing these small molecules during degradation. The small, cellular peptide, glutathione, was used to degrade the particles through the reductive cleavage of di..