Access Type

Open Access Dissertation

Date of Award

January 2018

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Department

Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

First Advisor

Zhiqiang Cao

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on the applications of zwitterionic polymer materials in drug delivery. In one project, zwitterionic polymer was used to construct micelle surfactants. The zwitterionic micelles were found to have an ultralow critical micelle concentration (CMC). Potential mechanism for zwitterionic micelles achieving the ultralow CMC property has been studied. Based on the ultralow CMC feature, zwitterionic micelles were used to prepare a formulation of commercial antitumor drug docetaxel, and the resulting formulation showed excellent antitumor performance. In another project, zwitterionic polymer was used to modify protein drug insulin via conjugation reaction. Compared with current protein modification methods, such as PEGylation, zwitterionic polymer conjugation drastically improved the pharmacological activity without compromising the bioactivity of insulin.

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