College of Chemistry and Environmental Science, Hebei University, , Baoding, 071002 China
Abstract:
A new thermosensitive poly(N‐propionyl‐aspartic acid/ethylene glycol) (PPAE) with no cytotoxicity and an upper critical solution temperature (UCST) is synthesized by polycondensation of l ‐aspartic acid and ethylene glycol. The chemical structures of the monomer and polymer are confirmed by FTIR and 1H NMR spectroscopy, and by elemental analysis measurements. Turbidimetric measurements indicate that PPAE shows a reversible UCST phase transition at 1.5–37.6 °C in pure water or an alcohol/water mixture. The UCST can be facilely tuned via changing the content of alcohol in water or the normal saline. Moreover, the survival rate of HeLa cells to PPAE is close to 100% within 48 h, demonstrating no cytotoxicity. Such aspartic acid‐based polymers with tunable thermosensitivity could be useful in the biomedical field.
