The present invention provides a method for the covalent immobilization of biomolecules on polymers for delivery of the biomolecules, which has the
advantage of being simple, highly efficient,
environmentally friendly and free of side products relative to traditional immobilization techniques. The invention provides a modified micro /
nanoparticle system, which uses a
functionalized polymer formed into micro or nanoparticles to bind a molecule to the particles using uses facile
chemistry, the Diels-
Alder cycloaddition between a
diene and a dienophile with the
polymer being functionalized with one of them and the molecule with the other, or the Huisgen 1,3-dipolar
cycloaddition between a terminal
alkyne and an
azide to bind the molecule to the particle. The molecules and / or other therapeutic agents may be encapsulated within the
polymer particles for intravenous therapeutic delivery. The invention also provides a novel synthetic
biodegradable polymer, a
furan /
alkyne-functionalized poly(
trimethylene carbonate) (PTMC)-based
polymer, whose composition can be designed to meet the defined physical and
chemical property requirements. In one example, the
particle system self-aggregates from functionalized PTMC-based copolymers containing poly(
ethylene glycol) (PEG) segments. The composition of the copolymers can be designed to meet various
particle system requirements, including size, thermodynamic stability, surface PEG density,
drug encapsulation capacity and
biomolecule immobilization capacity.