Gerhard Wenz

Nanoparticles made from novel starch derivatives for transdermal drug delivery

The goal of this paper was aimed to the formulation of nanoparticles by using two different propyl-starch derivatives - referred to as PS-1 and PS-1.45 - with high degrees of substitution: 1.05 and 1.45 respectively. A simple o/w emulsion diffusion technique, avoiding the use of hazardous solvents such as dichloromethane or dimethyl sulfoxide, was chosen to formulate nanoparticles with both polymers, producing the PS-1 and PS-1.45 nanoparticles. Once the nanoparticles were prepared, a deep physicochemical characterization was carried out, including the evaluation of nanoparticles stability and applicability for lyophilization. Depending on this information, rules on the formation of PS-1 and PS-1.45 nanoparticles could be developed. Encapsulation and release properties of these nanoparticles were studied, showing high encapsulation efficiency for three tested drugs (flufenamic acid, testosterone and caffeine); in addition a close to linear release profile was observed for hydrophobic drugs with a null initial burst effect. Finally, the potential use of these nanoparticles as transdermal drug delivery systems was also tested, displaying a clear enhancer effect for flufenamic acid.

Recognition of Ionic Guests by Ionic β‐Cyclodextrin Derivatives

Inclusion compounds of cationic, anionic, and neutral p-substituted derivatives of tert-butylbenzene complexed in beta-cyclodextrin and its ionic 6-mono and 6-hepta derivatives were systematically investigated by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). All inclusion compounds showed 1:1 stoichiometry with binding constants ranging from 10 to 3 x 10(6) M(-1). The binding free energies could be subdivided into apolar and electrostatic contributions. The electrostatic interactions could be quantitatively described by Coulombs law by taking into account the degree of protonation of hosts and guests, the orientations of the guests within the hosts, and ion shielding as described by the Debye-Hückel-Onsager theory. The orientations of the guests within the cyclodextrin cavities were determined by ROESY NMR spectroscopy.

Nanoparticles of anionic starch and cationic cyclodextrin derivatives for the targeted delivery of drugs

Starch was oxidized with TEMPO for the synthesis of water-soluble copolymers of glucuronic acid and glucose. The carboxylate groups of these copolymers were conjugated with pteroic acid as cell-specific ligand for targeting to cancer cells. Stable spherical nanoparticles (NPs) were formulated mixing aqueous solutions of the anionic copolymers and of a cationic thioether of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD). Particle size distributions of NPs were investigated with DLS as the function of the charge ratio of the constituents. The smallest and most uniform particles with a diameter of about 130 nm were generated at a charge ratio of anion/cation close to 1, preferably 1.2. Stabilities and particle size distributions of these starch NPs were very satisfactory. The starch/β-CD NPs could be loaded with hydrophobic guest molecules like 1,4-dihydroxyanthraquinone (DHA), which served as a model for the important class of anthracycline antibiotics used in cancer therapy.

A Hydrophobic Starch Polymer for Nanoparticle‐Mediated Delivery of Docetaxel

A hydrophobic starch derivative is used for safe and enhanced delivery of anticancer agents. The synthesis and characterization of propyl starch with a controlled degree of substitution to modulate the release of the encapsulated hydrophobic drug is reported. The application of this polymer for formulating nanoparticles of docetaxel, an anti-cancer agent effective against numerous types of cancers but possessing intrinsic formulation difficulties is described. The solvent emulsification/diffusion technique is used and the synthesis is optimized with respect to several formulation parameters. Uptake studies with these nanoparticles indicate their enhanced internalization by the cancerous cells and their peri-nuclear localization.

Synthesis of glycosylated peptides by NCA polymerization for recognition of human T-cells

Peracetylated sugars (glucose, mannose, galactose) were attached via a thiourea linker to the e-amino group of α-BOC-lysine and α-Z-lysine. After transformation to the N-carboxyanhydride (NCA), the product was copolymerized with both PEGylated lysine-NCA and e-TFA-lysine-NCA by both tertiary amine and nickel complex catalysts. The resulting statistical copolypeptides are water-soluble after global deprotection and show an α-helical secondary structure. Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) was then coupled to the free e-NH2 groups of the lysine repeating units. The galactosylated fluorescent peptides are specifically incorporated in human T lymphocytes at 37 °C, as shown by flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy. Therefore they are potentially useful for selective staining of cells or targeted drug delivery.

Cellular delivery of polynucleotides by cationic cyclodextrin polyrotaxanes

Cationic polyrotaxanes, obtained by temperature activated threading of cationic cyclodextrin derivatives onto water-soluble cationic polymers (ionenes), form metastable nanometric polyplexes with pDNA and combinations of siRNA with pDNA. Because of their low toxicity, the polyrotaxane polyplexes constitute a very interesting system for the transfection of polynucleotides into mammalian cells. The complexation of Cy3-labeled siRNA within the polyplexes was demonstrated by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. The uptake of the polyplexes (red) was imaged by confocal fluorescence microscopy using the A549 cell line as a model (blue: nuclei, green: membranes). The results prove the potential of polyrotaxanes for further investigations involving knocking down genes of therapeutic interest.

Space filling of β-cyclodextrin and β-cyclodextrin derivatives by volatile hydrophobic guests

Summary The inclusion of volatile derivatives of benzene and cyclohexane in β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), hydroxypropyl-β-CD, and hydrophilic β-CD-thioethers was investigated by static headspace gas chromatography (HS-GC) and molecular modelling. The obtained binding constants strongly increase with the amount of space filling of the CD cavity and the salt concentration. β-CD thioethers show a 3–10 times higher binding potential than native β-CD.

Enhanced cellular delivery of idarubicin by surface modification of propyl starch nanoparticles employing pteroic acid conjugated polyvinyl alcohol

Enhanced intracellular internalization of the anti-cancer active idarubicin (IDA) was achieved through appropriate surface modification of IDA loaded propyl starch nanoparticles. This was conducted by synthesizing pteroic acid modified polyvinyl alcohol (ptPVA) and employing this stabilizer for formulating the said nanoparticles. Pteroic acid attached at the nanoparticles improved the surface protein adsorption of the nanoparticle, a condition which the nanoparticles would largely experience in vitro and in vivo and hence improve their cellular internalization. Spherical, homogenous IDA nanoparticles (214 ± 5 nm) with surface modified by ptPVA were formulated using the solvent emulsification-diffusion technique. The encapsulation efficiency and drug loading amounted around 85%. In vitro release studies indicated a controlled release of IDA. Safety and efficacy of the nanoparticles was confirmed by suitable cellular cytotoxicity assays. Protein binding studies indicated a higher adsorption of the model protein on nanoparticles formulated with ptPVA as compared to PVA. Cellular uptake studies by confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed a higher cellular uptake of ptPVA stabilized nanoparticles thus confirming the proposed hypothesis of higher protein adsorption being responsible for higher cellular internalization.

Transfection of luciferase DNA into various cells by cationic cyclodextrin polyrotaxanes derived from ionene-11

Cationic polyrotaxanes for gene delivery have been generated by threading amine-functional cyclodextrins (CDs) onto polyionene cores. These polymers were used to condense nucleic acids into polyelectrolyte complexes of 1:1 and complexes with partly uncondensed DNA at lower N:P ratios. Transfection assays using a luciferase reporter gene in three representative cell lines indicated that a hexamino-CD-based polyrotaxane was an effective nucleic acid delivery agent, inducing comparable and even superior transgene expression levels as poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI). Furthermore, the polyrotaxanes were better tolerated by all three cell lines than PEI as reported by the MTT metabolic activity assay. These data indicate that polyrotaxanes of this type are promising gene delivery agents both in vitro and in vivo.

Molecular solubilization of fullerene C60 in water by γ-cyclodextrin thioethers

Summary Various hydrophilic γ-cyclodextrin (CD) thioethers, containing neutral or ionic side arms were found to form molecular disperse solutions of C60 in water reaching concentrations of 15 mg/L. Equilibrium state was approached after seven days without the use of organic cosolvents. The 1:2 stoichiometry of the C60/γ-CD thioether complexes was demonstrated by a parabolic phase-solubility diagram. In contrast, native γ-CD forms nanoparticles with C60. Particle sizes of C60 were determined by dynamic light scattering.