Intracellular Fate and Tuning Cellular Interactions of Carboxylic Acid Functionalised Polymers

Synthetic polymers have received increased research interest for their broad range of pharmaceutical applications. In my PhD thesis, we report the synthesis of negatively charged polymers that are cytocompatible with various cell lines. These polymers showed efficient targeting of Mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell, upon labelling with Cy5 dye. Mitochondria are vital cellular organelles, which have key roles in generating the energy needed for cells survival and regulating cell death in a process known as apoptosis. Therefore, these polymers demonstrate great potential in the delivery of mitochondria therapeutics for treatment of mitochondrial dysfunction-associated diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease.