Biodegradation of poly(amino acid)s: Evaluation methods and structure‐to‐function relationships

Autor: Rypáček, F., Pytela, J., Kotva, R., Škarda, V., Cífková, I.
Zdroj: Macromolecular Symposia; September 1997, Vol. 123 Issue: 1 p9-24, 16p
Abstrakt: Two poly(amino acid) systems were studied: (a) poly[N5‐(2‐hydroxyethyl)‐L‐glutamine] (PHEG) derivatives prepared by NCA polymerization; (b) poly‐α,β‐[N‐(2‐hydroxyethyl)‐DL‐aspartamide] (PHEA) derivatives prepared by thermal polycondensation of aspartic acid to racemic polysuccinimide followed by chemical modification reactions. The degradation of polymers by isolated enzymes and homogenate of kidney tissue was studied in vitroand the effect of polymer structure on the rate of degradation and the size of degradation products was evaluated. A PHEA derivative (modified by tyramine residues in 9.6 % of side chains) was accumulated in the lysosomes of kidney cells of rats and the molecular‐weight distribution of the polymer retained inside the lysosomes of living cells and that of the polymer excreted into urine was analysed by a high‐sensitivity size‐exclusion chromatography using the fluorescence and radioactive labelling. While PHEG derivatives were degraded by isolated mammalian enzymes and a tissue homogenate, no significant degradation of PHEA and derivatives was observed, either in vitro, with isolated enzymes and homogenate or in vivo, under a long‐term exposure to the lysosomal enzymes in living cells.
Databáze: Supplemental Index