Multifunctional Polymer Hybrid Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

Multifunctional nanoparticles combine several properties into one stable construct, providing a very promising tool for the medical world. However, converting the theoretical designs into a usable application is a multi-step process that usually costs a lot of time, effort and money. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to advance the research of designing multifunctional nanoparticles. The first part of the thesis covers the production of in situ surface functionalized polymer nanoparticles for targeting purposes. The second part of the thesis covers the production of fluorescent polymer nanoparticles, comprising of the conjugated polymer MDMO-PPV, for in vivo bioimaging. For the first time, these polymer nanoparticles were studied for their cytotoxicity and cell-uptake behavior using HMEC-1 cells. All the particles described in this work are synthesized using the miniemulsion technique.