Biodegradable stealth polymeric particles fabricated using the macromonomer approach by free radical dispersion polymerization

1. A polymer particle which comprises a copolymer of poly(alklyene glycol-graft-lactate) which is a free radical polymerization product of polyalkylene glycol and polylactic acid, the polyalkylene glycol having been functionalized by an acrylate and the polylactic acid having been functionalized with a double bond, the poly(alklyene glycol-graft-lactate) optionally crosslinked by at least one hydrolysable monomer.

2. The polymer particle of claim 1 , wherein the copolymer is poly(ethylene glycol-graft-P(LLA-HEMA)).

3. The polymer particle of claim 1 , wherein the hydrolysable monomer is N,O-dimethacryloylhydroxylamine.

4. The polymer particle of claim 1 , wherein a ratio of alklyene glycol to lactate is from about 0.25:1 to about 5:1.

5. The polymer particle of claim 1 , wherein the amount of hydrolysable monomer is from about 0 mol % to about 10 mol % based on the total amount of copolymer.

6. The polymer particle of claim 1 , wherein the average size is from about 50 nm to about 700.5 nm.

7. The polymer particle of claim 1 , further comprising a therapeutic agent.

8. The polymer particle of claim 1 , further comprising a therapeutic agent selected from the group consisting of paclitaxel, doxorubicin and docetaxel.

9. A polymer particle comprising a copolymer of:

(a) a hydrophobic monomer which comprises an alkene glycol acrylate and polylactic acid and which hydrophobic monomer includes a free radical polymerizable double bond,

(b) a hydrophilic monomer which comprises an alkene glycol acrylate which has been functionalized to include a free radical polymerizable double bond, and

(c) optionally a hydrolysable crosslinking agent.

10. The polymer particle of claim 9 , wherein the hydrophilic monomer is a poly(ethylene glycol) monomethyl ether mono methacrylate.

11. The polymer particle of claim 9 , wherein the hydrophobic monomer is P(LLA-HEMA) macromonomer.

12. The polymer particle of claim 9 , wherein the hydrolysable crosslinking agent is N,O-dimethylacryloylhydroxylamine.

13. The polymer particle of claim 9 , wherein a ratio of the hydrophilic monomer to the hydrophobic monomer is from about 0.25:1 to about 5:1.

14. The polymer particle of claim 9 , wherein the amount of hydrolysable crosslinking agent is from about 0 mol % to about 10 mol % based on the total amount of the hydrophilic monomer and the hydrophobic monomer.

15. The polymer particle of claim 9 , wherein the average size is from about 50 nm to about 700.5 nm.

16. The polymer of claim 9 , further comprising a therapeutic agent.

17. The polymer particle of claim 9 , further comprising a therapeutic agent selected from the group consisting of docetaxel, doxorubicin, and paclitaxel.

18. A polymer particle which comprises a polymer which is a free radical dispersion polymerization reaction product, the copolymer comprising structures represented by Formulas (I), (II), and optionally (III):

wherein R 2 -R 5 each represent a group, which may be the same or different from each other, and the group is selected from the group consisting of a hydrogen, a halogen, an alkyl group having one to five carbon atoms, wherein R 1 represents a group that is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, a halogen, and an alkyl group having 1-20 carbon atoms, wherein R 6 represents another chain of the crosslinked polymer that is comprised of the structures represented by Formulas (I), (II), and (III), wherein x, y, and z represent an integer from 1 to 100, wherein n represents an integer 1 to 10,000, wherein A 1 is an oxygen atom or a secondary amine, where A 2 is an oxygen atom or a secondary amine, wherein m is an integer between 1-10, wherein p is an integer 1 to 10,000.

19. The polymer particle of claim 18 , wherein R 2 -R 5 each represent a methyl group and R 1 represents a hydrogen atom.

20. The polymer particle of claim 18 , wherein a ratio of the structure represented by Formula (I) to Formula (II) is from about 1:0.25 to about 1:5.

21. The polymer particle of claim 18 , the amount of Formula (I) relative to the amount of sum of Formulas (I), (II), and (III) is from about 0.2 mol % to about 1 mol % based on the total amount of copolymer.

22. The polymer particle of claim 18 , wherein the average size is from about 50 nm to about 700.5 nm.

23. The polymer of claim 18 , further comprising a therapeutic agent.

24. The polymer particle of claim 18 , further comprising a therapeutic agent selected from the group consisting of docetaxel, doxorubicin, and paclitaxel.

25. The polymer particle of claim 7 , wherein the therapeutic agent comprises from about 0.25 to about 5 weight percent of the polymer particle.

26. The polymer particle of claim 16 , wherein the therapeutic agent is present in an amount which is greater than or equal to 0.25% w/w of the polymer particle.

27. A polymer particle which comprises a copolymer of poly(ethylene glycol-graft-P(LLA-HEMA)).

28. The polymer particle of claim 27 wherein the poly(ethylene glycol-graft-P(LLA-HEMA)) is crosslinked by at least one hydrolysable monomer.

29. The polymer particle of claim 27 , further comprising a therapeutic agent.

30. The polymer particle of claim 28 , further comprising a therapeutic agent.

31. The polymer particle of claim 29 , wherein the therapeutic agent is present in an amount which is greater than or equal to 0.25% w/w of the polymer particle.

32. The polymer particle of claim 30 , wherein the therapeutic agent is present in an amount which is greater than or equal to 0.25% w/w of the polymer particle.

33. A polymer particle which comprises a copolymer of poly(alklyene glycol-graft-lactate) which is a free radical polymerization product of polyalkylene glycol and polylactic acid both of which have been functionalized with double bonds, the poly(alklyene glycol-graft-lactate) optionally crosslinked by at least one hydrolysable monomer, wherein the copolymer of the poly(alklyene glycol-graft-lactate) includes structures represented by Formulas (I), (II), and optionally (III):

wherein R 2 -R 5 each represent a group, which may be the same or different from each other, and the group is selected from the group consisting of a hydrogen, a halogen, an alkyl group having one to five carbon atoms, wherein R 1 represents a group that is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, a halogen, and an alkyl group having 1-20 carbon atoms, wherein R 6 represents another chain of the crosslinked polymer that is comprised of the structures represented by Formulas (I), (II), and (III), wherein x, y, and z represent an integer from 1 to 100, wherein n represents an integer 1 to 10,000, wherein A 1 is an oxygen atom or a secondary amine, where A 2 is an oxygen atom or a secondary amine, wherein m is an integer between 1-10, wherein p is an integer 1 to 10,000.

34. The polymer particle of claim 1 wherein the polylactic acid has been functionalized with an acrylate.

35. The polymer particle of claim 9 wherein the polylactic acid has been functionalized with an acrylate.

36. The polymer particle of claim 33 wherein the polylactic acid has been functionalized with an acrylate.