QCM‐D assay for quantifying the swelling, biodegradation, and protein adsorption of intelligent nanogels. Issue 25 (31st October 2019) - Clegg, John R.
ABSTRACT: Environmentally responsive nanomaterials have been developed for drug delivery applications, in an effort to target and accumulate therapeutic agents at sites of disease. Within a biological system, these nanomaterials will experience diverse conditions which encompass a variety of solute identities and concentrations. In this study, we developed a new quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM‐D) assay, which enabled the quantitative analysis of nanogel swelling, protein adsorption, and biodegradation in a single experiment. As a proof of concept, we employed this assay to characterize non‐degradable and biodegradable poly(acrylamide‐ co ‐methacrylic acid) nanogels. We compared the QCM‐D results to those obtained by dynamic light scattering to highlight the advantages and limitations of each method. We detailed our protocol development and practical recommendations, and hope that this study will serve as a guide for others to design application‐specific QCM‐D assays within the nanomedicine domain. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020, 137, 48655. Abstract : The swelling and hysteresis of intelligent nanogels was monitored in real‐time using the quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation measurement. Decreases in the resonance frequency indicated an increase in absorbed mass (swelling), while increases demonstrated a loss of mass (hysteresis). Increases in dissipation indicated an increase in the viscosity of the nanogel layer, while decreases in dissipation revealed an increase in layer elasticity.