- Poloxamer
Poloxamers, also known by the trade name Pluronics [http://worldaccount.basf.com/wa/NAFTA~en_US/Catalog/ChemicalsNAFTA/pi/BASF/Brand/pluronic] , are nonionic triblock
copolymers composed of a centralhydrophobic chain of polyoxypropylene (poly(propylene oxide)) flanked by twohydrophilic chains of polyoxyethylene (poly(ethylene oxide)). Because the lengths of the polymer blocks can be customized, many different poloxamers exist that have slightly different properties. For the generic term "poloxamer", these copolymers are commonly named with the letter "P" (for poloxamer) followed by three digits, the first two digits x 100 give the approximate molecular mass of the polyoxypropylene core, and the last digit x 10 gives the percentage polyoxyethylene content (e.g., P407 = Poloxamer with a polyoxypropylene molecular mass of 4,000 g/mol and a 70% polyoxyethylene content) . For the Pluronic tradename, coding of these copolymers starts with a letter to define its physical form at room temperature (L = liquid, P = paste, F = flake (solid)) followed by two or three digits, The first digit (two digits in a three-digit number) in the numerical designation, multiplied by 300, indicates the approximate molecular weight of the hydrophobe; and the last digit x 10 gives the percentage polyoxyethylene content (e.g., F61 = Pluronic with a polyoxypropylene molecular mass of 1,800 g/mol and a 10%polyoxyethylene content). In the example given, poloxamer 181 (P181) = Pluronic F61.Uses of poloxamers
Because of their
amphiphilic structure, the polymers havesurfactant properties that make them useful in industrial applications. Among other things, they can be used to increase the water solubility ofhydrophobic , oily substances or otherwise increase themiscibility of two substances with different hydrophobicities. For this reason, these polymers are commonly used in industrial applications, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. They have also been used as model systems for drug delivery applications.In bioprocess applications, pluronic is also used in cell culture media for its cell cushioning effects because its addition leads to less stressful shear conditions for cells in reactors.
See also
* Video [http://research.uchicago.edu/highlights/item.php?id=11 Poloxamer-188: A Revolutionary Approach to Healing Injury]
*poloxamer 407
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