Aldehyde-functional thermoresponsive diblock copolymer worm gels exhibit strong mucoadhesion
Emma E. Brotherton, Thomas J. Neal, Daulet B. Kaldybekov, Mark J. Smallridge, Vitaliy V. Khutoryanskiy, Steven P. Armes
Abstract
-diol molar ratio. These aldehyde-functional worm gels are evaluated in terms of their mucoadhesion performance with the aid of a fluorescence microscopy-based assay. Using porcine urinary bladder mucosa as a model substrate, we demonstrate that these worm gels offer a comparable degree of mucoadhesion to that afforded by chitosan, which is widely regarded to be a 'gold standard' positive control in this context. The optimum degree of aldehyde functionality is approximately 30%: lower degrees of functionalization lead to weaker mucoadhesion, whereas higher values compromise the desirable thermoresponsive behavior of these worm gels.