Water-soluble polymers for binding hydrophobic biologically active compounds

Water-soluble neutral and charged copolymers of cholesterol methacrylate with 2-deoxy2-methacrylamido-D-glucose and methyl sulfate salt of N , N , N -trimethyl(aminoethyl methacrylate) and β-cyclodextrin-containing polymers of different compositions were synthesized. The interactions of the “dark” and luminescence-labeled copolymers with models of lowmolecular-weight hydrophobic compounds (cholesterol and acridine orange) and of highmolecular-weight biologically active compounds containing hydrophobic fragments with bovine serum albumin were studied by the method of polarized luminescence. Cholesteroland β-cyclodextrin-containing polymers actively bind these compounds by inclusion them into hydrophobic domains or due to the formation of host–guest complexes. The variation of the polymer structure makes it possible to control the degree of binding. The synthesized polymers are promising carriers of hydrophobic substances and can further serve as a basis for manufacturing systems for control of the level of hydrophobic substances in aqueous solutions and biological liquids.