Classifications

• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12N—MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA
  • C12N5/00—Undifferentiated human, animal or plant cells, e.g. cell lines; Tissues; Cultivation or maintenance thereof; Culture media therefor
  • C12N5/0068—General culture methods using substrates
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
  • A61P43/00—Drugs for specific purposes, not provided for in groups A61P1/00-A61P41/00
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12M—APPARATUS FOR ENZYMOLOGY OR MICROBIOLOGY; APPARATUS FOR CULTURING MICROORGANISMS FOR PRODUCING BIOMASS, FOR GROWING CELLS OR FOR OBTAINING FERMENTATION OR METABOLIC PRODUCTS, i.e. BIOREACTORS OR FERMENTERS
  • C12M25/00—Means for supporting, enclosing or fixing the microorganisms, e.g. immunocoatings
  • C12M25/14—Scaffolds; Matrices
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
  • C08F—MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED BY REACTIONS ONLY INVOLVING CARBON-TO-CARBON UNSATURATED BONDS
  • C08F220/00—Copolymers of compounds having one or more unsaturated aliphatic radicals, each having only one carbon-to-carbon double bond, and only one being terminated by only one carboxyl radical or a salt, anhydride ester, amide, imide or nitrile thereof
  • C08F220/02—Monocarboxylic acids having less than ten carbon atoms; Derivatives thereof
  • C08F220/10—Esters
  • C08F220/26—Esters containing oxygen in addition to the carboxy oxygen
  • C08F220/28—Esters containing oxygen in addition to the carboxy oxygen containing no aromatic rings in the alcohol moiety
  • C08F220/285—Esters containing oxygen in addition to the carboxy oxygen containing no aromatic rings in the alcohol moiety and containing a polyether chain in the alcohol moiety
  • C08F220/286—Esters containing oxygen in addition to the carboxy oxygen containing no aromatic rings in the alcohol moiety and containing a polyether chain in the alcohol moiety and containing polyethylene oxide in the alcohol moiety, e.g. methoxy polyethylene glycol (meth)acrylate
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C08—ORGANIC MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS; THEIR PREPARATION OR CHEMICAL WORKING-UP; COMPOSITIONS BASED THEREON
  • C08F—MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED BY REACTIONS ONLY INVOLVING CARBON-TO-CARBON UNSATURATED BONDS
  • C08F220/00—Copolymers of compounds having one or more unsaturated aliphatic radicals, each having only one carbon-to-carbon double bond, and only one being terminated by only one carboxyl radical or a salt, anhydride ester, amide, imide or nitrile thereof
  • C08F220/02—Monocarboxylic acids having less than ten carbon atoms; Derivatives thereof
  • C08F220/10—Esters
  • C08F220/26—Esters containing oxygen in addition to the carboxy oxygen
  • C08F220/28—Esters containing oxygen in addition to the carboxy oxygen containing no aromatic rings in the alcohol moiety
  • C08F220/285—Esters containing oxygen in addition to the carboxy oxygen containing no aromatic rings in the alcohol moiety and containing a polyether chain in the alcohol moiety
  • C08F220/287—Esters containing oxygen in addition to the carboxy oxygen containing no aromatic rings in the alcohol moiety and containing a polyether chain in the alcohol moiety and containing polypropylene oxide in the alcohol moiety
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12N—MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA
  • C12N2533/00—Supports or coatings for cell culture, characterised by material
  • C12N2533/30—Synthetic polymers
  • C12N2533/40—Polyhydroxyacids, e.g. polymers of glycolic or lactic acid (PGA, PLA, PLGA); Bioresorbable polymers
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C12—BIOCHEMISTRY; BEER; SPIRITS; WINE; VINEGAR; MICROBIOLOGY; ENZYMOLOGY; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING
  • C12N—MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING, OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; CULTURE MEDIA
  • C12N2539/00—Supports and/or coatings for cell culture characterised by properties
  • C12N2539/10—Coating allowing for selective detachment of cells, e.g. thermoreactive coating

Definitions

• the present invention relates to stabilised polymer particles, and their use in controlled release applications.
• the polymer particles may be used in cell delivery, for example the polymer particles may be used as cell support matrices.
• the stable polymer particles are prepared using LCST polymers. These LCST polymers (polymer that displays a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) in aqueous media that is between 10 to 90 0 C) and processes for their production are also described.
• LCST polymers polymer that displays a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) in aqueous media that is between 10 to 90 0 C
• Cell delivery materials are required that can be formulated with cells at room temperature but which, when co-injected with the cells into the body, can aggregate in situ into a porous gel that will protect the cells and subsequently promote tissue growth.
• Thermoresponsive polymers i.e. materials that undergo conformational or phase changes in response to a heat stimulus
• PNIPAm Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)
• PEO-PPO poly(ethylene oxide)-co-poly(propylene oxide) co-polymers exhibit reverse thermal gelation behaviour in water, forming semi-solid gels when heated above their Lower Critical Solution Temperature (LCST) and are used in the pharmaceutical industry because the base polymers PEO and PPO are biocompatible.
• Other materials that exhibit this behaviour include poly(caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(lactide)-(PLA) block co-polymers (e.g. PEO-PCL-PEO) .
• the gels formed by these polymers are either too mechanically unstable to be used for cell scaffolds/ cell delivery, or the concentrations required to form stable gels on introduction into the body are too high for practical use.
• thermoresponsive polymers at the surface have been prepared from silica and from gold particles. See Zhang et al, Macromolecules 38, 9813-9820 (2005) ; and Kim, D. J. et al. , Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics 206, 1941-1946 (2005) .
• thermoresponsive polymers have been surface-engineered into forming biodegradable particles to generate porous cell-polymer composite gels.
• microparticles that can be prepared in a facile manner, which disperse with cells at temperatures below 37 0 C to form free-flowing suspensions, and which form space-filling gels at body temperature that support cell growth.
• the microparticles include novel biocompatible thermoresponsive polymers. These polymers are designed such that they can partition into the surface of biodegradable polymer spheres during particle preparation, thus generating microparticles having highly controllable colloidal stability and biomaterial properties in a simple, single step procedure.
• the invention therefore also involves the synthesis of the novel biocompatible thermoresponsive polymers.
• the invention provides the synthesis of biocompatible amphiphilic co-polymers that are chain-extended and exhibit high water solubility just below body temperature, but are insoluble at 37 0 C. As a consequence of these characteristics, these polymers can act to stabilise colloidal particles under a first set of conditions, but aggregate the particles under a second set of conditions.
• the surface-engineered microparticles with a biodegradable polymer core and a specifically-designed thermoresponsive biocompatible co-polymer corona can be produced in a simple one-pot procedure.
• the particles can form free-flowing suspensions below 37 0 C but can reversibly form porous space-filling gels above this temperature as a result of chain collapse of the co-polymer corona. These particles can therefore be mixed with biological materials at less than 37° C, and then can form into stable encapsulating gels at body temperature; these stable encapsulating gels can support cell growth within the gel. [014] The combination of the ease of preparation, potential for scale-up, and the wide variations possible in the co-polymer corona layer due to controlled synthesis indicates that these systems are promising as a new class of biological delivery agent and support for tissue growth.
• the present invention provides, inter alia, the smart particles, the process by which these materials can be produced and their use as cell support matrices.
• the invention provides, in a first aspect, a method for the preparation of a polymer that displays a lower critical solution temperature, in aqueous media, that is between 10 to 90 0 C, the method comprising: the use of one or more monomer selected from polymerisable alkyleneglycol acrylate monomers and polymerisable alkyleneglycol methacrylate monomers as monomers in a polymerisation reaction.
• a lower critical solution temperature may also be referred to as LCST or as an inverse-solubility temperature relationship.
• An LCST may be determined by heating at
• the method may involve the steps of: providing one or more monomer selected from polymerisable alkyleneglycol acrylate monomers and polymerisable alkyleneglycol methacrylate monomers; and carrying out polymerisation of the monomers to generate polymers with a lower critical solution temperatures, in aqueous media, of between 10 to 90 0 C.
• the polymerisable alkyleneglycol acrylate monomers and polymerisable alkyleneglycol methacrylate monomers may be selected from: di(ethyleneglycol)-acrylate, oligo(ethyleneglycol) -acrylate, poly (ethyleneglycol) -acrylate, di(ethyleneglycol)- methacrylate, oligo(ethyleneglycol) -methacrylate, poly (ethyleneglycol) -methacrylate, poly(propyleneglycol)-acrylate, and poly (propyleneglycol) -methacrylate, either singly, or in various combinations.
• two monomers are used in combination, i.e.
• the polymer obtained is a copolymer. It may be, for example, that the method involves the polymerisation of poly(ethyleneglycol)methacrylate (PEGMA) and poly(propylene glycol) methacrylate (PPGMA) .
• PEGMA poly(ethyleneglycol)methacrylate
• PPGMA poly(propylene glycol) methacrylate
• the PEGMA may have a Mn of about 475 and the PPGMA may have a Mn of about 430.
• Any polymerisation technique can be used in the method of the invention to generate the polymer materials.
• free-radical methods and controlled free-radical methods including, but not exclusively, atom transfer radical polymerisation (ATRP) .
• ATRP atom transfer radical polymerisation
• the combinations of the monomer units in the generated polymer can be random, or can be controlled, such that sequence specific block-co-polymers are produced in any combination of monomers.
• the choice of starting monomers (in particular their molar mass) and the polymerisation conditions can be controlled to vary the molar mass of the generated polymer.
• the molar masses of the generated polymers can be varied to be from IkDa up to over 1000 kDa.
• the molar masses of the polymers are between 25-75 kDa with polydispersity (Mw/Mn) indices between 1-2.5.
• the invention also provides, in a second aspect, a polymer that displays a lower critical solution temperature, in aqueous media, that is between 10 to 90 0 C, the polymer being obtainable by the method of the first aspect.
• the invention provides a polymer that displays a lower critical solution temperature, in aqueous media, that is between 10 to 90 0 C, the polymer being the polymerisation product of one or more monomer selected from polymerisable alkyleneglycol acrylate monomers and polymerisable alkyleneglycol methacrylate monomers.
• the polymers can be random, or can be controlled, sequence specific, block-co- polymers.
• the polymers can have molar masses from IkDa up to over 1000 kDa.
• the molar masses of the polymers are between 25-75 kDa with polydispersity (Mw/Mn) indices between 1-2.5.
• the polymer may be the polymerisation product of one or more monomer selected from: di(ethyleneglycol)-acrylate, oligo(ethyleneglycol)-acrylate, poly (ethyleneglycol) -acrylate, di(ethyleneglycol) -methacrylate, oligo(ethyleneglycol)- methacrylate, poly(ethyleneglycol)-methacrylate, poly(propyleneglycol)-acrylate, and poly (propyleneglycol) -methacrylate, either singly, or in various combinations.
• the polymer is the polymerisation product of two monomers, i.e. it is a copolymer.
• the polymer is the polymerisation product of poly(ethyleneglycol)methacrylate (PEGMA) and poly(propylene glycol) methacrylate (PPGMA) .
• PEGMA poly(ethyleneglycol)methacrylate
• PPGMA poly(propylene glycol) methacrylate
• the PEGMA may have a Mn of about 475 and the PPGMA may have a Mn of about 430. It may be that the PEG AM-PPGMA copolymer has a Mn of about 15,500.
• the polymers of the invention may hereafter be referred to as LCST polymers.
• the polymers are suitably biocompatible amphiphilic copolymers that are chain- extended and exhibit high water solubility just below body temperature, but are insoluble at 37 0 C. Thus these polymers can act to stabilise colloidal particles under a first set of conditions, but aggregate the particles under a second set of conditions.
• the invention provides, in a third aspect, the use of the polymers of the second aspect, either singly or in combination, as surface-engineering surfactants during preparation of polymer particles by a method selected from emulsion methods, diffusion methods and evaporation methods.
• the invention also provides, in a fourth aspect, a method for the preparation of polymer particles, the method comprising: the provision of one or more polymer in accordance with the second aspect; and the addition of the polymer, as surface-engineering surfactant, to a reaction mixture for the preparation of a polymer particle by a method selected from emulsion methods, diffusion methods and evaporation methods.
• the invention also provides, in a fifth aspect, polymer particles obtainable by the method of the fourth aspect.
• the invention provides polymer particles that are obtainable by a method selected from emulsion methods, diffusion methods and evaporation methods carried out in the presence of surface-engineering surfactant which is one or more polymer according to the second aspect.
• the invention provides polymer particles that have a biodegradable polymer core and a thermoresponsive biocompatible co-polymer corona, wherein the co-polymer is a polymer according to the second aspect.
• the polymer particles of the invention can have a bulk phase/core of any organic composition, but especially preferable are biodegradable polymers such as poly(lactic-co- glycolic acid) PLGA or its constituent homo-polymers. Accordingly, it is preferred that the polymer particles have a bulk phase/core of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) , poly(lactic acid) or poly(glycolic acid) .
• polymer particles that have a bulk phase/core of PLGA and that are obtainable by a method selected from emulsion methods, diffusion methods and evaporation methods, carried out in the presence of surface-engineering surfactant which is one or more polymer according to the second aspect.
• the invention provides polymer particles that have a biodegradable polymer core and a thermoresponsive biocompatible co-polymer corona, wherein the biodegradable polymer core is PLGA and the co-polymer is the polymerisation product of PEGMA and PPGMA.
• An aspect crucial to the inventive step is the ability of the LCST polymers to sterically stabilise the bulk polymer particles in aqueous media below their LCST, but to exhibit reduced stability above the LCST.
• the polymer particles in accordance with the fifth aspect are surprisingly beneficial in that they are stable at a temperature below the LCST of the polymer of the second aspect, but they have reduced stability at temperatures above the
• This change can be used as a trigger to associate/disassociate the LCST polymers and their combinations with the bulk polymer particles.
• LCST of a LCST polymer can vary with other properties of the solution in which the particles reside.
• LCST can be affected by ionic strength, electric field, pH, solvent composition and any agents used as co-solvents. Any factor that changes the lower critical solution temperature of the LCST polymers can be varied to cause a change in the steric stabilisation properties of the LCST polymers and therefore cause a change in stability of the polymer particles of the fifth aspect.
• any change in solvent property i.e. the ability of a liquid or liquid mixture to dissolve a solute, that affects lower critical solution temperature, can be used as a trigger to associate/disassociate the LCST polymers and their combinations with particles.
• the invention relates to polymer particles that can reversibly associate from solution/suspension and their application in the biomedical field.
• the key applications for the invention are in controlled release, including flavour/fragrance release and especially in the biomedical field.
• the bulk of the polymer particles can incorporate actives, which for biomedical applications will be small molecule drugs and biopharmaceuticals for conventional drug delivery, or slow release growth factors and other soluble molecules for tissue growth, organ repair and regenerative medicine.
• the polymer particles of the invention may therefore comprise active ingredients selected from: flavours, fragrances, small molecule drugs and biopharmaceuticals, and slow release growth factors and other soluble molecules for tissue growth, organ repair and regenerative medicine. These active ingredients are suitably incorporated in the bulk of the polymer particles.
• the actives incorporated in the bulk of the particles are exemplified by fluorescent labels but for biomedical applications these would be small molecule drugs and biopharmaceuticals for conventional drug delivery, or slow release growth factors and other soluble molecules for tissue growth.
• the invention provides the use of the polymer particles of the fifth aspect in controlled release applications.
• the applications may, for example, be selected from flavour release applications, fragrance release applications and biomedical applications, such as conventional drug delivery applications.
• the applications may involve release of small molecule drugs or biopharmaceuticals for conventional drug delivery, or release of slow release growth factors and other soluble molecules for tissue growth, organ repair and regenerative medicine.
• the particles may disperse with cells, or other biological materials, at temperatures below 37 0 C to form free-flowing suspensions, and form space-filling gels at body temperature that support cell growth.
• the invention provides a product which comprises the polymer particles of the fifth aspect and biological material such as cells.
• Such a product will be a dispersion below the lower critical solution temperature of the polymer of the second aspect. It may therefore be initially provided as a free flowing suspension.
• Such a product can be used to encapsulate the cells or other biological material above the lower critical solution temperature of the polymer of the second aspect. At such a temperature it forms a space filling gel that supports the growth of the cell or other biological material.
• the lower critical solution temperature of the polymer of the second aspect is just below body temperature such that the product is a dispersion at room temperature and a gel at body temperature.
• the particles when cells are provided together with the particles, the particles can form a porous cocoon for the cells during cell growth; this will allow the generation of matrix architectures that can promote cell-cell contact and foster enhanced tissue generation.
• the polymer particles of the invention can be therefore be viewed as a colloidal cell delivery system.
• the invention also provides, in an eighth aspect, the use of the polymer particles of the fifth aspect as cell support matrices.
• the invention also provides, in a ninth aspect, a cell support matrix comprising the polymer particles of the fifth aspect.
• the invention also provides, in a tenth aspect, a free flowing suspension comprising (i) cells and (ii) the polymer particles of the fifth aspect, at a temperature below 37 0 C.
• the invention also provides, in an eleventh aspect, a space filling gel that supports cell growth comprising (i) cells and (ii) the polymer particles of the fifth aspect, at body temperature.
• the invention also provides the use of polymers, of the second aspect, either singly or in combination, to prepare microparticles that disperse with cells at temperatures below 37 0 C to form free-flowing suspensions, and that form space-filling gels at body temperature that support cell growth.
• the invention also provides the use of polymers, of the second aspect, either singly or in combination, to partition into the surface of biodegradable polymer spheres during particle preparation, thus generating microparticles having highly controllable colloidal stability and biomaterial properties.
• Figure 1 provides an illustration of the concepts of the invention.
• Figure 1 (a) shows the concept underlying steric stabilisation of microparticles; chain extension of a hydrated PEGMA-co-PPGMA corona prevents inter-particle attractive forces dominating.
• Figure l(b) it can be seen that collapse of the PEGMA- co-PPGMA layer above the LCST reduces colloidal stability; attractive interactions between particles causes aggregation.
• surface-engineered smart particles are provided that are simple to prepare, exhibit well-controlled thermoresponsive behaviour, and are biocompatible and biodegradable. These materials offer a number of possibilities in cell delivery and tissue engineering applications.
• the surface chemistry of the LCST polymer could be controlled through modifications of co-monomers in the initial polymerisation to afford additional functionalities and responses that are biomimetic in nature. These could be acid-base responses to help regulate PLGA degradation, or bioadhesive functionalities to mimic key features of the extra-cellular matrix.
• Figure 1 is a schematic of the polymer particles of the invention, which can act as a colloidal cell delivery system
• Figure 2 illustrates the synthesis and properties of the polymer particles of the invention, which are thermoresponsive biodegradable microparticles
• Figure 3 shows texture probe analysis of colloidal suspensions and thermoreversible gels formed from the polymer particles of the invention
• Figure 4 shows in situ encapsulation of cells by polymer particles of the invention and formation of tissue scaffold from the polymer particles
• Figure 5 shows an H NMR spectrum of the copolymer PEGMA-co-PPGMA (25/75) , which is a LCST polymer of the invention
• Figure 6 illustrates the typical particle size of PLGA microparticles in accordance with the invention
• Figure 7 shows the equipment used for uniaxial compression tests
• Figure 8 shows A) spinning scan of MicroCT, B) reconstructure scan of MicroCT for the polymer particles of the invention
• Figure 9 shows characteristics of LCST polymers of the invention in different environments
• Figure 10 shows the phase transition, as observed by DLS, for an aqueous solution of a copolymer PEGMA-PPGMA (25/75) , which is a LCST polymer of the invention
• Figure 11 shows rheology data for PLGA microparticles in accordance with the invention, from 2O 0 C to 45 0 C.
• PDI 1.50
• the polymer (surfactant-copolymer or LCST polymer) PEGMA-co-PPGMA
• Ethyl acetate, azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) and 1-dodecanethiol were of analytical grade from Aldrich and used as supplied.
• the solution was diluted with acetone and precipitated into a large excess of hexane. After removal of the upper solvent layer, the precipitated polymer was dried in vacuo to get rid of the residual solvent. Then the polymer was dissolved in deionised water and subsequently purified by dialysis (molecular weight cut off: 6000) against fresh deionised water. Finally, water was removed by azeotropic distillation with ethanol to leave the amphiphilic co-polymer.
• a round bottom flask fitted with a three-way stopcock was charged with CuBr (64.5mg, 0.448mmoles) , bipyridine (139mg, 0.891mmoles) , and then connected to either a nitrogen line or a vacuum pump. Oxygen was removed by repeated vacuum-nitrogen cycles. Once filled with nitrogen, the flask was filled with degassed PEGMA (5.532g, 11.6 mmoles) , PPGMA (15g, 34.9 mmoles) and butanone (30ml) .
• methyl 2-bromopropionate solution (1.ImL) in butanone (0.42M) was added, and the polymerisation was conducted at the desired temperature (typically 6O 0 C) for 10 hours. After polymerization, the solution was diluted with acetone and passed through a silica column to remove copper catalyst and precipitated into a large excess of hexane. Further purification was re-precipitations and dialysis followed by lyophilisation as described above.
• PLGA microparticles were prepared using an emulsion-evaporation-diffusion method (illustrated in Figure 2) .
• PLGA 200 mg
• ethyl acetate 5 mL
• copolymer PEGMA-co-PPGMA 10 mL, 2 mg.mL-1
• the resultant emulsion was homogenized at 11000 rpm for 45 seconds and added to a second PEGMA-co-PPGMA solution (15ml, 2 mg.mL "1 ) with further homogenization at 1100 rpm for 45 seconds.
• the organic solvent from the particle cores was removed in vacuo. Microparticles were separated by centrifugation (2500 rpm) from the aqueous phase, and re-suspended in water prior to lyophilisation.
• Mn Number average molecular weight
• Mw weight average molecular weight
• Mw/Mn polydispersity
• DMEM Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium
• FBS fetal bovine serum
• glutamine glutamine
• amphotericin B antibiotic/ antimycotic solution
• C2C12 cells were trypsinised and re-suspended in DMEM, then centrifuged and re-suspended in DMEM containing fluorescent dye (C34551 Cell Tracker Orange CMRA) for 45 minutes. Then the labelled cells were centrifuged and added with Hank's Buffered Salt Solution (HBSS) . Approximately 500000 cells (in 0.25ml of HBSS buffer) were then mixed with PLGA microparticles (150mg) . The mixture were incubated in a non tissue culture six well plates at 37 0 C for 30 minutes to form scaffold and followed adding DMEM to further incubation. Fluorescence images were taken after the cells were washed with sterile PBS and transferred to fresh non tissue culture six well plates. Cell viability was assessed using Alamar Blue assay (Biosource Europe) .
• HBSS Hank's Buffered Salt Solution
• Solvent butanone, reaction conditions: 70 0 C for 8 hours.
• FRP free-radical polymerisation
• ATRP atom transfer radical polymerisation
• Figure 9A The effect of molecular weight on the LCST of the polymers was assessed (using copolymers with the same monomeric components) and the results are shown in Figure 9A.
• Figure 9B shows the LCST for the copolymer PEGMA-co-PPGMA both heating up and cooling down.
• Figure 9C shows the influence of pH on the LCST of the copolymer.
• Figure 9D shows the effect of NaCl concentration on the LCST.
• PEGMA- co-PPGMA 25/75 was used and the concentration of the copolymer was 3 mg/ml in each case.
• Figure 2(iv) depicts sol-to-gel transition for the LCST polymers.
• Low viscosity solutions were formed with PEGMA 25 PPGMA 75 co-polymers of low-to-intermediate molar masses ( ⁇ 30 kDa) below LCST; these polymers precipitated from solution above LCST.
• Increasing the molar mass of PEGMA 25 PPGMA 75 to 160 kDa resulted in a stable gel in water above LCST. The sample below LCST is on the left and the sample above LCST on the right.
• FIG. 10 shows a plot of the hydrodynamic radius Rh (y axis) as a function of temperature (x axis, in 0 C) as measured by DLS for a aqueous solution (lmg/ml) of the copolymer PEGMA-PPGMA (25/75) .
• thermoresponsive biodegradable microparticles [096]
• Figure 2 (i) there is an illustration of the monomers PEGMA and PPGMA which are co-polymerised via free-radical or controlled radical (ATRP) techniques to generate the comb co-polymers shown in Figure 2 (ii) .
• ATRP controlled radical
• FIG. 2 (v-viii) Preparation of surface-engineered smart particles is shown in Figure 2 (v-viii) .
• Preparation of poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) particles stabilised with PEGMA-PPGMA co-polymers was carried out by an emulsion/diffusion/evaporation method. Specifically, a solution of PLGA in ethyl acetate is added to PEGMA-co- PPGMA polymer in water and stirred to generate an emulsion as shown in Figure 2 (v) .
• the amphiphilic co-polymer stabilises the droplets of solvent containing PLGA during rapid stirring, as shown in Figure 2 (vi) .
• PEGMA-coPPGMA -coated PLGA particles as shown in Figure 2 (vii) . These are recovered by centrifugation and re-suspended in water, as shown in Figure 2 (viii) .
• FIG 2(ix) and 2 (x) A schematic of the surface response of PEGMA-co-PPGMA layer is shown in Figure 2(ix) and 2 (x) . It can be seen that the yielded microparticles have a 2-4 ⁇ m diameter with a surface 'corona' of the responsive LCST polymer.
• PPGMA revealed the surface coating, as shown in Figure 2 (xv) (DAPI emission filter) , to be co-localized with the encapsulated Nile Red in the PLGA cores as shown in Figure
• Figure 6 shows typical particle sizes for the PLGA microparticles of the invention.
• Figure 11 shows rheology data for the PLGA microparticles (concentration of the PLGA microparticles, 25% w/v) from 2O 0 C to 45 0 C.
• PEGMA-co-PPGMA to PLGA.
• PEGMA-co-PPGMA coating which in turn varies with molar mass.
• the force required to inject suspensions of particles is shown to vary only slightly compared to buffer and movement of the syringe barrel. This can be seen in Figure 3a.
• the top line is the particle suspensions
• the middle line is the movement of the syringe barrel
• the bottom line is the buffer.
• the graph shows peak force of injection through a tapered 1.6mm outlet nozzle for the empty syringe compared to buffer and 60%w/w solids scaffold suspension.
• the empty syringe requires a peak force of 1.17 ⁇ 0.15N, 1.125 ⁇ 0.18N with buffer and 2 ⁇ 0.03N with the particle suspension.
• Figure 8 shows the ⁇ CT images for the gels formed from the PLGA microparticles.
• Figure 8 A shows a ⁇ CT spinning scan and
• Figure 8B shows a 3D reconstruction. These show macropores and cavities after cell encapsulation and drying.
• PEGMA-PPGMA coated PLGA gel indicates enhanced cell viability in the gel.
• Use of the Live/DeadTM stain indicated cell viability deep in the gel ( Figure 4e) . Labelled C2C12 cells with Live/DeadTM stain are shown to fluoresce green while the matrix particles stain red.
• the viability and metabolism was evaluated by the Alamar Blue assay.
• the data indicated that encapsulation of the cells via the in situ thermal gelation process took place with full retention of viability after 24 hrs, and that the cells were still growing at this timepoint.
• the Alamar Blue assay data is shown in Figure 4f, confirming similar viability for cells in and on the gel matrix as compared to C2C12 cells on non-tissue culture plastic (Blank) .
• the control sample is fluorescence from the PEGMA-PPGMA coated PLGA gel alone.

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