Designing Polymeric Multifunctional Nanogels for Photothermal Inactivation: Exploiting Conjugate Polymers and Thermoresponsive Platforms
<b>Background/Objectives</b>: Photothermal therapy (PTT) is an emerging minimally invasive strategy in biomedicine that converts near-infrared (NIR) light into localized heat for the targeted inactivation of pathogens and tumor cells. <b>Methods and Results</b>: In this study...
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2025-06-01
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| author | Ignacio Velzi Edith Ines Yslas Maria Molina |
| author_facet | Ignacio Velzi Edith Ines Yslas Maria Molina |
| author_sort | Ignacio Velzi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <b>Background/Objectives</b>: Photothermal therapy (PTT) is an emerging minimally invasive strategy in biomedicine that converts near-infrared (NIR) light into localized heat for the targeted inactivation of pathogens and tumor cells. <b>Methods and Results</b>: In this study, we report the synthesis and characterization of thermoresponsive nanogels composed of poly (<i>N</i>-isopropylacrylamide-<i>co</i>-<i>N</i>-isopropylmethylacrylamide) (PNIPAM-<i>co</i>-PNIPMAM) semi-interpenetrated with polypyrrole (PPy), yielding monodisperse particles of 377 nm diameter. Spectroscopic analyses—including <sup>1</sup>H-NMR, FTIR, and UV-Vis—confirmed successful copolymer formation and PPy incorporation, while TEM images revealed uniform spherical morphology. Differential scanning calorimetry established a volumetric phase transition temperature of 38.4 °C, and photothermal assays demonstrated a ΔT ≈ 10 °C upon 10 min of 850 nm NIR irradiation. In vitro antimicrobial activity tests against <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> (ATCC 15692) showed a dose-time-dependent reduction in bacterial viability, with up to 4 log CFU/mL. Additionally, gentamicin-loaded nanogels achieved 38.7% encapsulation efficiency and exhibited stimulus-responsive drug release exceeding 75% under NIR irradiation. <b>Conclusions</b>: Combined photothermal and antibiotic therapy yielded augmented bacterial killing, underscoring the potential of PPy-interpenetrated nanogels as smart, dual-mode antimicrobials. |
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| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1999-4923 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-b2804c3a8f474ed598b6b6b6591eeb0a2025-08-20T03:32:27ZengMDPI AGPharmaceutics1999-49232025-06-0117782710.3390/pharmaceutics17070827Designing Polymeric Multifunctional Nanogels for Photothermal Inactivation: Exploiting Conjugate Polymers and Thermoresponsive PlatformsIgnacio Velzi0Edith Ines Yslas1Maria Molina2Departamento de Química, Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto, Río Cuarto 5800, ArgentinaInstituto de Investigaciones en Tecnologías Energéticas y Materiales Avanzados (IITEMA), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Ruta Nac 36 km 601, Río Cuarto 5800, ArgentinaDepartamento de Química, Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto, Río Cuarto 5800, Argentina<b>Background/Objectives</b>: Photothermal therapy (PTT) is an emerging minimally invasive strategy in biomedicine that converts near-infrared (NIR) light into localized heat for the targeted inactivation of pathogens and tumor cells. <b>Methods and Results</b>: In this study, we report the synthesis and characterization of thermoresponsive nanogels composed of poly (<i>N</i>-isopropylacrylamide-<i>co</i>-<i>N</i>-isopropylmethylacrylamide) (PNIPAM-<i>co</i>-PNIPMAM) semi-interpenetrated with polypyrrole (PPy), yielding monodisperse particles of 377 nm diameter. Spectroscopic analyses—including <sup>1</sup>H-NMR, FTIR, and UV-Vis—confirmed successful copolymer formation and PPy incorporation, while TEM images revealed uniform spherical morphology. Differential scanning calorimetry established a volumetric phase transition temperature of 38.4 °C, and photothermal assays demonstrated a ΔT ≈ 10 °C upon 10 min of 850 nm NIR irradiation. In vitro antimicrobial activity tests against <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> (ATCC 15692) showed a dose-time-dependent reduction in bacterial viability, with up to 4 log CFU/mL. Additionally, gentamicin-loaded nanogels achieved 38.7% encapsulation efficiency and exhibited stimulus-responsive drug release exceeding 75% under NIR irradiation. <b>Conclusions</b>: Combined photothermal and antibiotic therapy yielded augmented bacterial killing, underscoring the potential of PPy-interpenetrated nanogels as smart, dual-mode antimicrobials.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/17/7/827nanogelspolypyrroleantimicrobial materialsphotothermal inactivationcombined therapy |
| spellingShingle | Ignacio Velzi Edith Ines Yslas Maria Molina Designing Polymeric Multifunctional Nanogels for Photothermal Inactivation: Exploiting Conjugate Polymers and Thermoresponsive Platforms Pharmaceutics nanogels polypyrrole antimicrobial materials photothermal inactivation combined therapy |
| title | Designing Polymeric Multifunctional Nanogels for Photothermal Inactivation: Exploiting Conjugate Polymers and Thermoresponsive Platforms |
| title_full | Designing Polymeric Multifunctional Nanogels for Photothermal Inactivation: Exploiting Conjugate Polymers and Thermoresponsive Platforms |
| title_fullStr | Designing Polymeric Multifunctional Nanogels for Photothermal Inactivation: Exploiting Conjugate Polymers and Thermoresponsive Platforms |
| title_full_unstemmed | Designing Polymeric Multifunctional Nanogels for Photothermal Inactivation: Exploiting Conjugate Polymers and Thermoresponsive Platforms |
| title_short | Designing Polymeric Multifunctional Nanogels for Photothermal Inactivation: Exploiting Conjugate Polymers and Thermoresponsive Platforms |
| title_sort | designing polymeric multifunctional nanogels for photothermal inactivation exploiting conjugate polymers and thermoresponsive platforms |
| topic | nanogels polypyrrole antimicrobial materials photothermal inactivation combined therapy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/17/7/827 |
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