Amphiphilic Copolymers Capable of Concomitant Release of HNO and Small Molecule Organics.

We demonstrate concomitant release of HNO and small molecule organics from amphiphilic poly(norbornene)-based copolymers. This key function was achieved by incorporation of thermally labile oxazine units within random and block copolymer architectures. Upon thermolysis, we observed generation of HNO and release of a small molecule conjugate. Importantly, the release kinetics of HNO and a UV-active small molecule (4-nitroaniline) were found to be 1:1, signifying an ability to monitor HNO production indirectly, or to simultaneously release organic therapeutics (e.g., nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) along with HNO. To our knowledge, these are the first reported polymeric materials demonstrating HNO release from covalently attached HNO donors.