Water-soluble quantum dots (QDs) for liver cancer diagnosis were prepared using QDs with oleylamine ligand coated with poly(aspartate)–graft–poly(ethylene glycol)–dodecylamine (PASP–Na–g–PEG–DDA). Dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy imaging showed that the novel QDs have an ellipsoidal morphology with a size of ~ 45 nm which could be used for biomedical application. Furthermore, the PASP–Na–g–PEG–DDA was then modified with anti-(vascular endothelial growth factor) (VEGF antibody), and a 1-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-3,5-diphenylformazan (MTT) assay showed that the novel anti-VEGF-targeting QDs in vitro had low toxicity. Confocal laser scanning microscopy observations revealed an intracellular (HepG2) distribution of the novel anti-VEGF-targeting QDs and the targeting efficiency of anti-VEGF. These novel QDs could be used as a probe for liver cancer cell imaging because of anti-VEGF targeting. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

5,10,15,20-tetra(4-hydroxyphenyl)porphyrin (THPP) was synthesized by the condensation of pyrrole with 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde in the presence of solvent (propionic acid). Subsequently, the resulting THPP was converted to a tetrafunctional star-shaped macroinitiator (porphyrin-Br₄) by esterification of it with 2-bromopropanoyl bromide, and then atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of styrene was conducted at 110°C with CuCl/2,2′-bipyridine as the catalyst system. The resulting product was reacted with NBS to obtain star-shaped initiator porphyrin-(PSt-Br)₄, which was used the following ATRP of the GMA to synthesize star–comb-shaped grafted polymer porphyrin-(PSt-g-PGMA)₄. The number molecular weight was 2.3 × 10⁴ g/mol, and the dispersity was narrow (M_w/M_n = 1.32). The structure of the polymers was investigated by NMR, UV–vis, IR, and GPC measurement. The self-assembly behavior of the polymer porphyrin-(PSt-g-PGMA)₄ was studied by DLS and AFM. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012

This work is focused on the synthesis and optical properties of cone-shaped structural feature di-dendron polyamidoamine dendrimers up to the third generation with mono-Boc-protected ethylenediamine (EDA) as a core. Strong UV absorbance spectra and fluorescence spectra from di-dendron dendrimers with different terminal groups (-NH₂, -COOCH₃) were studied under different conditions by varying experimental parameters such as concentration and pH. The optical density and fluorescence intensities increased when di-dendron dendrimers generation number increased from 0.5 to 3.0. It was confirmed that the concentration of di-dendron dendrimers plays an important role in fluorescence intensity. The increase in fluorescence intensity was linear in low concentration regions, but the intensity increased slowly in high concentration regions. The results also showed a rapid increase in fluorescence intensity at low pH. The formation of a fluorescence-emitting moiety had a close relationship to protonated tertiary amine groups in di-dendron dendrimers derived from mono-Boc-protected EDA cores. Furthermore, the formation of fluorescent chemical species was irreversible. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A Y-shaped diblock copolymer with a functional block poly(glycidyl methacrylate) was synthesized via the combination of enzymatic ring-opening polymerization (eROP) and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The synthetic procedure involved eROP of ε-caprolactone (ε-CL) in the presence of biocatalyst Novozyme 435 and initiator 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluoro-1-octaoxy, subsequently the resulting poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) was converted to a macroinitiator by esterification of it with 2,2-dichloro acetyl chloride, and finally the ATRP of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) was conducted at 60 °C with CuCl/2,2′-bipyridine as the catalyst system. By this process, we obtained copolymers with a controlled molecular weight and a low polydispersity. The structure and composition of the obtained polymers were characterized by H NMR, GPC, and IR. Linear first-order kinetics, linearly increased molecular weight with conversion, and low polydispersities were observed for the ATRP of GMA. The thermal properties of the copolymer were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry. The self-assembly behavior of the Y-shaped block copolymer was also investigated in different solvents and at different concentrations. The aggregates of various morphologies (spheres, worm-like patterns, nanowell patterns, and dendritic patterns) were observed. It was found that solvents remarkably influenced the morphologies of the films spin-coated from the corresponding solutions. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 5509–5526, 2009