eCommons

 

Towards the Design of an oligoTEA Endosomal Escape Agent: Investigations in Hydrophobicity and pKa

Other Titles

Abstract

The oligothioetheramide (oligoTEA) family is a novel set of synthetic macromolecules with the advantageous characteristic of sequence-specificity. Due to their abiotic and highly modular nature, oligoTEAs are currently being explored in a variety of biological applications, ranging from use as antibacterial and antiviral agents, to use as heteromultifunctional cross-linkers and cell penetrating agents. The problem of endosomal escape in intracellular drug delivery represents an arena where this family of macromolecules may find potential use. Here, I report initial investigations into the physiochemical properties of oligoTEAs that would be relevant in tackling such a problem. Together, these methods and results can form the basis for future rational design of an oligoTEA endosomal escape agent. pKa and hydrophobicity are two key parameters routinely used in assessing the viability of new drug delivery candidates. From partitioning data, bulk microscopic measurements of pKa and hydrophobicity were determined for a library consisting of oligoTEAs of differing length and backbone composition. Using standard regression techniques as well as tools from equilibrium statistical mechanics, these measurements are used to address the possibility for correlations (1) between whole oligomers and their constituent parts (2) between backbone components and side-chain groups and (3) between neighboring side-chain groups. In doing so, some heuristics are uncovered that will be useful in navigating the oligoTEA design space.

Journal / Series

Volume & Issue

Description

Sponsorship

Date Issued

2018-12-30

Publisher

Keywords

Chemical engineering

Location

Effective Date

Expiration Date

Sector

Employer

Union

Union Local

NAICS

Number of Workers

Committee Chair

Alabi, Christopher Akinleye

Committee Co-Chair

Committee Member

Daniel, Susan

Degree Discipline

Chemical Engineering

Degree Name

M.S., Chemical Engineering

Degree Level

Master of Science

Related Version

Related DOI

Related To

Related Part

Based on Related Item

Has Other Format(s)

Part of Related Item

Related To

Related Publication(s)

Link(s) to Related Publication(s)

References

Link(s) to Reference(s)

Previously Published As

Government Document

ISBN

ISMN

ISSN

Other Identifiers

Rights

Rights URI

Types

dissertation or thesis

Accessibility Feature

Accessibility Hazard

Accessibility Summary

Link(s) to Catalog Record