A common approach for building a drug delivery system is to incorporate the drug within the nanocarrier that results in increased solubility, metabolic stability, and improved circulation time. However, recent developments indicate that selection of polymer nanomaterials can implement more than only inert carrier functions by being biological response modifiers. One representative of such mater...

We have successfully controlled the size of magnetic nanoparticles by adjusting the surfactant/solvent ratio. Gamma-Fe(2)O(3) nanoparticles of 5.6 and 12.7, and Fe(0) nanoparticles of 22.3 nm in diameter were prepared, all having spherical shape and uniform size as confirmed by TEM. Mössbauer spectra confirmed Fe(3+) for the 5.6 and 12.7 nm particles and Fe(3+) and Fe(0) for 22.3 nm particles, ...

Pluronics are a class of amphiphilic triblock copolymers that are known to interact with cellular membranes in interesting ways. The solubility of these triblock copolymers in free lipid membranes can be altered with temperature, allowing the possibility of tuning their membrane insertion. However, for supported lipid membranes, the asymmetric local environment and the strong influence of the s...

Nanospheres of poly(methacrylic acid-grafted-poly(ethylene glycol)) were prepared by solution/precipitation polymerization. As colloidal drug delivery carriers, they present unique properties that render them promising candidates for oral protein delivery. The polymerization was carried out in water and the resulting suspension was freeze-dried. As with many colloidal systems, the freeze-dried ...

Pluronics are triblock copolymers of poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide). Pluronic P85 forms a rich phase behavior when dissolved in water. Unimers are observed at low temperature while micelles form at higher temperatures. Spherical, cylindrical, and lamellar micelles are observed sequentially upon heating. The effect of hydrostatic pressure on the phase boundaries ...

We have studied the solubilization behavior of tributylphosphate (TBP) in aqueous solutions of L64-Pluronics, using light and small angle neutron scattering (SANS). Varying the temperature and the oil content, the system presents a nontrivial phase behavior. In particular, at 308 K, a first solubilization followed by an emulsification failure and a resolubilization is found. We have measured th...