@phdthesis{Hahn2022, author = {Hahn, Lukas}, title = {Novel Thermoresponsive Hydrogels Based on Poly(2-oxazoline)s and Poly(2-oxazine)s and their Application in Biofabrication}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-27129}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-271299}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2022}, abstract = {In this work, the influence of aromatic structures on drug encapsulation, self-assembly and hydrogel formation was investigated. The physically crosslinked gelling systems were characterized and optimized for the use in biofabrication and applied in initial (bio)printing experiments. Chapter I: The cytocompatible (first in vitro and in vivo studies) amphiphile PMeOx-b-PBzOx-b- PMeOx (A-PBzOx-A) was used for the solubilization of PTX, schizandrin A (SchA), curcumin (CUR), niraparib and HS-173. Chapter II: Compared to the polymers A-PPheOx-A, A-PBzOx-A and A-PBzOzi-A, only the polymer A-PPheOzi-A showed a reversible temperature- and concentration-dependent inverse thermogelation, which is accompanied by a morphology change from long wormlike micelles in the gel to small spherical micelles in solution. The worm formation results from novel interactions between the hydrophilic and hydrophobic aromatic polymer blocks. Changes in the hydrophilic block significantly alter the gel system. Rheological properties can be optimized by concentration and temperature, which is why the hydrogel was used to significantly improve the printability and stability of Alg in a blend system. Chapter III: By extending the side chain of the aromatic hydrophobic block, the inverse thermogelling polymer A-poly(2-phenethyl-2-oxazoline)-A (A-PPhenEtOx-A) is obtained. Rapid gelation upon cooling is achieved by inter-correlating spherical micelles. Based on ideal rheological properties, first cytocompatible bioprinting experiments were performed in combination with Alg. The polymers A- poly(2-benzhydryl-2-oxazoline)-A (A-PBhOx-A) and A-poly(2-benzhydryl-2-oxazine) (A-PBhOzi-A) are characterized by two aromatic benzyl units per hydrophobic repeating unit. Only the polymer A- PBhOzi-A exhibited inverse thermogelling behavior. Merging micelles could be observed by electron microscopy. The system was rheologically characterized and discussed with respect to an application in 3D printing. Chapter IV: The thermogelling POx/POzi system, in particular the block copolymer PMeOx-b- PnPrOzi, was used in different applications in the field of biofabrication. The introduction of maleimide and furan units along the hydrophilic polymer part ensured additional stabilization by Diels-Alder crosslinking after the printing process.}, subject = {Polymer Science}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{He2024, author = {He, Feng}, title = {Drug Discovery based on Oxidative Stress and HDAC6 for Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases}, doi = {10.25972/OPUS-25349}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-253497}, school = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg}, year = {2024}, abstract = {Most antioxidants reported so far only achieved limited success in AD clinical trials. Growing evidences suggest that merely targeting oxidative stress will not be sufficient to fight AD. While multi-target directed ligands could synergistically modulate different steps in the neurodegenerative process, offering a promising potential for treatment of this complex disease. Fifteen target compounds have been designed by merging melatonin and ferulic acid into the cap group of a tertiary amide HDAC6 inhibitor. Compound 10b was screened as the best hybrid molecule exhibit potent HDAC6 inhibition and potent antioxidant capacity. Compound 10b also alleviated LPS-induced microglia inflammation and led to a switch from neurotoxic M1 to the neuroprotective M2 microglial phenotype. Moreover, compound 10b show pronounced attenuation of spatial working memory and long-term memory damage in an in vivo AD mouse model. Compound 10b can be a potentially effective drug candidate for treatment of AD and its druggability worth to be further studied. We have designed ten novel neuroprotectants by hybridizing with several common antioxidants, including ferulic acid, melatonin, lipoic acid, and trolox. The trolox hybrid compound exhibited the most potent neuroprotective effects in multiple neuroprotection assays. Besides, we identified the synergistic effects between trolox and vitamin K derivative, and our trolox hybrid compound showed comparable neuroprotection with the mixture of trolox and vitamin K derivative. We have designed and synthesized 24 quinone derivatives based on five kinds of different quinones including ubiquinone, 2,3,5-trimethyl-1,4-benzoquinone, memoquin, thymoquinone, and anthraquinone. Trimethylbenzoquinone and thymoquinone derivatives showed more potent neuroprotection than other quinones in oxytosis assay. Therefore, trimethylbenzoquinone and thymoquinone derivatives can be used as lead compounds for further mechanism study and drug discovery for treatment of neurodegenerative disease. We designed a series of photoswitchable HDAC inhibitors, which could be effective molecular tools due to the high spatial and temporal resolution. In total 23 target compounds were synthesized and photophysicochemically characterized. Azoquinoline-based compounds possess more thermally stable cis-isomers in buffer solution, which were further tested in enzyme-based HDAC inhibition assay. However, none of those tested compounds show significant differences in activities between trans-isomers and corresponding cis-isomers.}, subject = {Alzheimerkrankheit}, language = {en} }