A Hyperbranched Polyol Process for Designing and Manufacturing Nontoxic Cobalt Nanocomposite.

A method for the design and synthesis of a metallopolymer composite (CoNP) based on cobalt nanoparticles using the hyperbranched polyol process was developed. It was shown that hyperbranched polyester polyols in a melted state can be both a reducing agent and a stabilizer of metal nanoparticles at the same time. The mechanism of oxidation of hyperbranched polyol was studied using diffuse reflectance IR spectroscopy. The process of oxidation of OH groups in G4-OH started from 90 °C and finished with the oxidation of aldehyde groups. The composition and properties of nanomaterials were determined with FT-IR and UV-Vis spectroscopy, Nanoparticle Tracking Analysis (NTA), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), NMR relaxation, and in vitro biological tests. The cobalt-containing nanocomposite (CoNP) had a high colloidal stability and contained spheroid polymer aggregates with a diameter of 35-50 nm with immobilized cobalt nanoparticles of 5-7 nm. The values of R2 and R1 according to the NMR relaxation method for CoNPs were 6.77 mM·ms-1 × 10-5 and 4.14 mM·ms-1 × 10-5 for, respectively. The ratio R2/R1 = 0.61 defines the cobalt-containing nanocomposite as a T1 contrast agent. The synthesized CoNPs were nonhemotoxic (HC50 > 8 g/mL) multifunctional reagents and exhibited the properties of synthetic modulators of the enzymatic activity of chymosin aspartic proteinase and exhibited antimycotic activity against Aspergillus fumigatus. The results of the study show the unique prospects of the developed two-component method of the hyperbranched polyol process for the creation of colloidal multifunctional metal-polymer nanocomposites for theranostics.

Effect of the Synthetic Approach on the Formation and Magnetic Properties of Iron-Based Nanophase in Branched Polyester Polyol Matrix.

This article shows the success of using the chemical reduction method, the polyol thermolytic process, the sonochemistry method, and the hybrid sonochemistry/polyol process method to design iron-based magnetically active composite nanomaterials in a hyperbranched polyester polyol matrix. Four samples were obtained and characterized by transmission and scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetry. In all cases, the hyperbranched polymer is an excellent stabilizer of the iron and iron oxides nanophase. In addition, during the thermolytic process and hybrid method, the branched polyol exhibits the properties of a good reducing agent. The use of various approaches to the synthesis of iron nanoparticles in a branched polyester polyol matrix makes it possible to control the composition, geometry, dispersity, and size of the iron-based nanophase and to create new promising materials with colloidal stability, low hemolytic activity, and good magnetic properties. The NMR relaxation method proved the possibility of using the obtained composites as tomographic probes.