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Biomedical subjects

Alexei A Antipov

Publications and source records attributed to Alexei A Antipov.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Nanoengineered polymer capsules: tools for detection, controlled delivery, and site-specific manipulation.

We present the concept of multifunctional nanoengineered polymer capsules and outline their applications as new drug delivery systems or supramolecular toolboxes containing, for example, enzymes capable of converting nontoxic prodrugs into toxic drugs at a designated location. Such functionalized nanocontainers offer a wide range of applications including enzymatic catalysis, controlled release, and directed drug delivery in medicine due to their multifunctionality. The unique advantage of capsules in comparison to other systems is that they can be functionalized or loaded simultaneously with the above-mentioned components, thus permitting multifunctional processes in single cells.

Animals↗

Polyelectrolyte multilayer capsules as vehicles with tunable permeability.

This review is devoted to a novel type of polymer micro- and nanocapsules. The shell of the capsule is fabricated by alternate adsorption of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes (PEs) onto the surface of colloidal particles. Cores of different nature (organic or inorganic) with size varied from 0.1 to 10 mum can be used for templating such PE capsules. The shell thickness can be tuned in nanometer range by assembling of defined number of PE layers. The permeability of capsules depends on the pH, ionic strength, solvent, polymer composition, and shell thickness; it can be controlled and varied over wide range of substances regarding their molecular weight and charge. Including functional polymers into capsule wall, such as weak PEs or thermosensitive polymers, makes the capsule permeability sensitive to correspondent external stimuli. Permeability of the capsules is of essential interest in diverse areas related to exploitation of systems with controlled and sustained release properties. The envisaged applications of such capsules/vesicles cover biotechnology, medicine, catalysis, food industry, etc.

Adsorption↗

Remote activation of capsules containing Ag nanoparticles and IR dye by laser light.

We present a novel method for remote release of an encapsulated material from polyelectrolyte capsules based on laser light illumination. Two different components were introduced in the polyelectrolyte shells of PAH/PSS capsules-either Ag nanoparticles or IR dye-to induce absorption of light. Under laser illumination the capsules containing Ag nanoparticles or IR dye were deformed or cut, thus providing a venue for remote release of encapsulated materials. The experiments were conducted with a low-power near-infrared continuous-wave laser diode.

Journal Article↗

Layer-by-layer engineering of biocompatible, decomposable core-shell structures.

The objective of the present investigation was to fabricate composite colloidal particles consisting of a sacrificial, decomposable template of biodegradable nature covered with biocompatible polyelectrolyte multilayers using the layer-by-layer sequential adsorption technique. Poly-dl-lactic acid and poly(dl-lactic-co-glycolic acid) were chosen to design the microparticulate template, and a preliminary feasibility study was carried out with poly(styrene sulfonate sodium)-poly(allylamine hydrochloride) as shell components. The properties of both core-shell and hollow structures obtained by core dissolution were characterized by confocal laser scanning microscopy, microelectrophoresis, scanning force microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The concept was then extended to biocompatible polyelectrolytes as shell wall building blocks to deduce stable hollow capsules with tailored properties. Uniform, complete coating with oppositely charged polyelectrolyte pairs was achieved for all the combinations investigated. The results demonstrate that polyester microparticles could serve as viable alternative components to conventionally employed templates to derive hollow capsules with defined size, shape, and shell thickness. With all the components used for fabrication being biocompatible, these polyelectrolyte capsules may find interesting applications in the fields of biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, and drug delivery.

Biocompatible Materials↗