Dichloromethane

Styrene (>99%) and all the para-substituted styrene derivatives (4-methylstyrene, 4-fluorostyrene), α-methylstyrene, Palladium (II) chloride (99%) and α,α’-dibromo-p-xylene were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich. 2,4,6-tri(4-pyridyl)−1,3,5-triazine was purchased from TCI Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. Solvents (dichloromethane, chloroform, dimethylformamide, methanol, acetone, n-hexane, ethyl acetate, diethyl ether) were purchased from SD Fine Chemicals. Analytical reagent (AR) grade solvents were used for chemical reactions and HPLC grade solvents were used for spectroscopic measurements. Other chemical reagents like hydrochloric acid, sodium bicarbonate etc. were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich. Heavy water (D₂O; 99.9 atom %D) was procured from Sigma-Aldrich and used as supplied for the chemical reactions as well as for the NMR measurements.

Cabozantinib was a gift sample obtained from Neon Laboratories Ltd, Mumbai, India. Poly D, L-lactide, glycolide, polysarcosine, 2-ethyl hexanoate, methylene chloride, and diethyl ether was purchased from Sigma-Aldrich, Bengaluru, India. Dichloromethane, methanol, polyvinyl alcohol, and d-trehalose was purchased from Sd Fine-Chem Limited, Mumbai, India. Spectra Por S/P 2 Dialysis Membrane was a gift sample from Cole-Parmer^®, Mumbai, India. From National Centre For Cell Science, Pune, India hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HepG2) was obtained. Further, Dulbecco’s Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM), Hepatocyte Culture Medium (HHCM), Fetal bovine serum (FBS), tetrazolium salt and propidium iodide (PI), tetrazolium salt (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT), 4’, 6 diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI), Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), was purchased from HiMedia Laboratories Pvt Ltd, Mumbai, India.

Polyphenylsulfone (PPSu) was kindly supplied by Solvay Advanced Polymers, Milano, Italy, and served as the main polymer matrix for the fabrication of the membranes. Polyethylene glycol-600, magnesium sulfate, sodium sulfate, sodium hydroxide, potassium chloride, sodium azide, and glycerol were obtained from Merck, Rahway, NJ, USA and used as received. Chlorosulfonic acid, an important reagent in the synthesis of sulfonated polyphenylenesulfone (SPPSu), was also obtained from Merck, Rahway, NJ, USA. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles, which played a crucial role in enhancing the properties of the membranes, were obtained from Sigma–Aldrich, Rahway, NJ, USA. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), a surfactant, was also obtained from Sigma–Aldrich and used in the membrane preparation process. N-Methyl Pyrrolidone and dichloromethane were sourced from SD Fine-Chem Limited, Tamil Nadu, Chennai, India, and used as solvents in the synthesis and processing of the membranes. Millipore MQ purified water was used for the experiments and to prepare the gelation bath, ensuring the purity of the water used in the membrane fabrication process.