Biodegradability is a key feature for the application of polymeric devices in medicine. This study reports an experimental and theoretical study of the degradation of poly(thioether-ester) (PTEe) nanoparticles in aqueous media. The α,ω-diene diester derived from vegetable oil, 1,3-propylene diundeca-10-polenoate (Pd10e), was used as monomer in the solvent-free synthesis of Pd10e-based nanoparticles (A-PTEe nanoparticles) via thiol-ene miniemulsion polymerization. The theoretical partition coefficients of A-PTEe and a PTEe based on dianhydro-d-glucityl diundec-10-enoate (DGU) (B-PTEe nanoparticles) were calculated using density functional theory (DFT), in order to compare their degradation behavior. The results showed that A-PTEe is more hydrophilic than B-PTEe, thus indicating the possible faster degradation of the former. The experimental degradation studies showed that, in fact, A-PTEe nanoparticles are faster degraded than B-PTEe, presenting substantial molecular weight decrease, which confirms the theoretical results. The effects of degradation could be observed in the chemical composition and thermal properties of the polymer. Considering its applicability potential as a biomaterial due to its fast degradation behavior, the cytotoxicity of A-PTEe nanoparticles and its degradation products were evaluated. In vitro assays confirmed the biocompatibility of A-PTEe nanoparticles and its degradation products when exposed on fibroblasts and red blood cells. These results suggest A-PTEe nanoparticles can be promising candidates as biobased nanocarriers for biomedical applications.

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中文翻译：

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细乳液中硫醇-烯聚合制备的生物基纳米粒子的体外降解和细胞毒性反应

生物降解性是聚合物设备在医学中应用的关键特征。这项研究报告了在水性介质中降解聚（硫醚醚）（PTEe）纳米粒子的实验和理论研究。植物油中的α，ω-二烯二酯1,3-丙二烯十碳酸酯（Pd10e）在无溶剂合成Pd10e纳米颗粒（A-PTEe纳米颗粒）中用作硫醇单体烯微乳液聚合。基于dianhydro- A-PTEE和PTEE的理论分配系数d为了比较它们的降解行为，使用密度泛函理论（DFT）计算了β-葡萄糖基十一碳二烯酸酯（DGU）（B-PTEe纳米粒子）。结果表明，A-PTEe比B-PTEe更具亲水性，因此表明前者可能更快降解。实验降解研究表明，实际上，A-PTEe纳米颗粒的降解速度比B-PTEe快，分子量显着降低，这证实了理论结果。可以在聚合物的化学组成和热性能中观察到降解的影响。考虑到由于其快速降解行为而具有作为生物材料的潜在应用潜力，因此对A-PTEe纳米颗粒及其降解产物的细胞毒性进行了评估。体外试验证实，当暴露于成纤维细胞和红细胞时，A-PTEe纳米颗粒及其降解产物具有生物相容性。这些结果表明，A-PTEe纳米颗粒有望成为生物医学应用中基于生物的纳米载体。

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