Crosslinked Nanocapsules via Miniemulsions

Chong Cheng Lab

Comparison images, on left side, TEM images of various types of CPNCs, right hand side is confocal images showing drug-gene co-delivery into cancer cells via cationic CPNCs.

a) TEM images of various types of CPNCs; b) confocal images showing drug-gene co-delivery into cancer cells via cationic CPNCs.

The goal of this project is to develop facile miniemulsion-based approaches for the preparation of well-defined CPNCs for various applications, such as evasion of multidrug resistant cancer cells and drug-gene co-delivery.

Overview

With robust covalently stabilized hollow nanostructures, crosslinked polymer nanocapsules (CPNCs) have attracted great interest over the past decade. Because miniemulsions can be readily prepared, the goal of this project is to develop facile miniemulsion-based approaches for the preparation of well-defined CPNCs for various applications. Several important research outcomes have been achieved. First, a novel “crystal-forming” emulsion approach was established as a practical solution of the long term technique challenge of dynamic instability of surfactant monolayers, and unique polyelectrolyte-based CPNCs with monolayer-thick shells were synthesized. Second, a new approach for the preparation of nanomaterials by tuning miniemulsion reaction systems to be transparent to enable highly efficient photo reactions was developed, and accordingly several types of well-defined CPNCs were prepared. Third, the significant applications of CPNCs in the evading of multidrug resistance of cancer cells and the drug-gene co-delivery have been demonstrated.

Resulting Publications

Li, Y.; Themistou, E.; Das, B. P.; Christian-Tabak, L.; Zou, J.; Tsianou, M.; Cheng, C. Chem. Commun. 2011, 47, 11697.
Zou, J.; Hew, C. C.; Themistou, E.; Li, Y.; Chen, C.-K.; Alexandridis, P.; Cheng, C. Adv. Mater. 2011, 23, 4274.
Chen, C.-K.; Law, W.-C.; Aalinkeel, R.; Nair, B.; Yu, Y.; Mahajan, S. D.; Reynolds, J. L.; Wu, J.; Li, Y.; Lai, C. K.; Tzanakakis, E. S.; Schwartz, S. A.; Prasad, P. N.; Cheng, C. Nanoscale 2014, 6, 1567.
Chen, C.-K.; Wang, Q.; Jones, C. H.; Yu, Y.; Zhang, H.; Law, W.-C.; Lai, C. K.; Zeng, Q. H.; Prasad, P. N.; Pfeifer, B. A.; Cheng, C. Langmuir 2014, 30, 4111.
Sun, H.; Chen, C.-K.; Cui, H.; Cheng, C., Polym. Int. 2016, 65, 351-361.