posted on 2019-11-13, 20:07authored byYingqi Shang, Nan Zheng, Zhonggang Wang
This paper presents the design and synthesis of star-shaped
copolymers
with two poly[2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] and poly(ethylene
glycol) blocks linked via a disulfide bond and each end of the four
arms capped by folic acid (FA), from which the prepared nanodrug carriers
simultaneously possess pH/redox dual response and active targeting
functions. The polymer micelles exhibit excellent stability as reflected
by their low critical micelle concentration values of 1.03–2.51
mg/L. The doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded polymer micelles are in the range
of 108 to 143 nm, and the DOX-loading capacities are found to be up
to 32.3%. The sensitive pH and redox responses are demonstrated by
examining the drug release behaviors under the varied acidic condition
from pH 7.4 to 5.0 and the glutathione concentrations from 0 to 10
mM, respectively. Moreover, the observation of confocal laser scanning
microscopy confirms that the functionalization of arm ends by FA indeed
enhances the internalization of DOX-loaded micelle particles in HeLa
cells. As a result, the DOX-loaded nanocarriers can deliver therapeutic
drugs to target HeLa cells, and the viability of HeLa cells (10.1%)
approaches the value of the pristine DOX (9.98%), showing promising
application as drug delivery nanocarriers for safe and highly efficient
cancer therapy.