A Non-toxic Cellular Staining Agent Based on Fluorescently Labeled Poly[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl phosphorylcholine]

In this study we show that poly[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl phosphorylcholine] (PMPC) can be used as a carrier for small molecules by covalently attaching a fluorescent label. ATRP was used to prepare various fluorescent PMPC homopolymers or statistical copolymers of varying molecular weights. Results indicate that the nature of the fluorescent tag does not have any detrimental effect on the polymerization and the resulting (co)polymers exhibitied the expected absorption/emission profiles that are characteristic of the fluorescent label. Cellular viability assays indicated negligible cytotoxicity after incubation of HDF cells for 24 hours in the presence of the (co)polymers.