Sophie S. Müller

Universal concept for the implementation of a single cleavable unit at tunable position in functional poly(ethylene glycol)s.

Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) with acid-sensitive moieties gained attention particularly for various biomedical applications, such as the covalent attachment of PEG (PEGylation) to protein therapeutics, the synthesis of stealth liposomes, and polymeric carriers for low-molecular-weight drugs. Cleavable PEGs are favored over their inert analogues because of superior pharmacodynamic and/or pharmacokinetic properties of their formulations. However, synthetic routes to acetal-containing PEGs published up to date either require enormous efforts or result in ill-defined materials with a lack of control over the molecular weight. Herein, we describe a novel methodology to implement a single acetaldehyde acetal in well-defined (hetero)functional poly(ethylene glycol)s with total control over its position. To underline its general applicability, a diverse set of initiators for the anionic polymerization of ethylene oxide (cholesterol, dibenzylamino ethanol, and poly(ethylene glycol) monomethyl ether (mPEG)) was modified and used to synthesize the analogous labile PEGs. The polyether bearing the cleavable lipid had a degree of polymerization of 46, was amphiphilic and exhibited a critical micelle concentration of 4.20 mg·L(-1). From dibenzylamino ethanol, three heterofunctional PEGs with different molecular weights and labile amino termini were generated. The transformation of the amino functionality into the corresponding squaric acid ester amide demonstrated the accessibility of the cleavable functional group and activated the PEG for protein PEGylation, which was exemplarily shown by the attachment to bovine serum albumin (BSA). Furthermore, turning mPEG into a macroinitiator with a cleavable hydroxyl group granted access to a well-defined poly(ethylene glycol) derivative bearing a single cleavable moiety within its backbone. All the acetal-containing PEGs and PEG/protein conjugates were proven to degrade upon acidic treatment.

Click Modification of Multifunctional Liposomes Bearing Hyperbranched Polyether Chains

Aiming at controlled modification of liposomal surface structures, we describe a postpreparational approach for surface derivatization of a new type of multifunctional, sterically stabilized liposomes. Application of dual centrifugation (DC) resulted in high encapsulation efficiencies above 50% at very small batch sizes with a total volume of 150 μL, which were conductive to fast and efficient optimization of variegated surface modification reactions. Cholesterol-polymer amphiphiles, including complex hyperbranched polyether structures bearing 1-4 terminal alkynes, were used in DC formulations to provide steric stabilization. The alkyne moieties were explored as anchors for the conjugation of small molecules to the liposomal surface via click chemistry, binding 350-450 fluorophores per liposome as examples for surface active molecules. Using Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) spectroscopy, the conjugation reaction as well as the uptake of FRET-labeled liposomes by RBE4 cells was monitored, and the distribution of the fluorescent lipids among cellular structures and membranes could be studied. Thus, the combination of clickable hyperbranched amphiphiles and dual centrifugation provides access to well-defined liposomal formulations with a variety of surface moieties.

Block copolymers in giant unilamellar vesicles with proteins or with phospholipids

Biocompatible, highly water-soluble, nonionic, amphiphilic block copolymers having different hydrophobic blocks and architectures, but similar molecular size and chemical nature of the hydrophilic blocks, were investigated to check for their ability to form hybrid giant unilamellar vesicles with proteins, and for their interactions with giant unilamellar phospholipid vesicles (GUV). PGM14-b-PPO34-b-PGM14 (PGM-PPO-PGM) consists of a poly(propylene oxide) middle block and outer poly(glycerol monomethacrylate) blocks. Ch-PEG32-b-IPG18 (Ch-PEG-IPG) and Ch-PEG30-b-hbPG17 (Ch-PEG-hbPG) have a linear poly(ethylene glycol) block, linked to a cholesterol end group and to a linear (IPG) or hyperbranched (hbPG) polyglycerol block. Fluorescently-labelled polymers were synthesised to image and analyse the self-assembling and interaction processes using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). By implementing a novel strategy for polymersomes formation the copolymers were found to spontaneously form giant unilamellar vesicles with proteins in aqueous solution. Furthermore, the investigation of the interaction of the block copolymers with different phospholipid GUVs provided detailed information about the structure-behaviour relationship. Additionally, it was found that these neutral copolymers are able to cross artificial and natural phospholipid membranes.

Fate of linear and branched polyether-lipids in vivo in comparison to their liposomal formulations by 18F-radiolabeling and positron emission tomography.

In this study, linear poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and novel linear-hyperbranched, amphiphilic polyglycerol (hbPG) polymers with cholesterol (Ch) as a lipid anchor moiety were radiolabeled with fluorine-18 via copper-catalyzed click chemistry. In vivo investigations via positron emission tomography (PET) and ex vivo biodistribution in mice were conducted. A systematic comparison to the liposomal formulations with and without the polymers with respect to their initial pharmacokinetic properties during the first hour was carried out, revealing remarkable differences. Additionally, cholesterol was directly labeled with fluorine-18 and examined likewise. Both polymers, Ch-PEG27-CH2-triazole-TEG-(18)F and Ch-PEG30-hbPG24-CH2-triazole-TEG-(18)F (TEG: triethylene glycol), showed rapid renal excretion, whereas the (18)F-cholesten displayed retention in lung, liver, and spleen. Liposomes containing Ch-PEG27-CH2-triazole-TEG-(18)F revealed a hydrodynamic radius of 46 nm, liposomal Ch-PEG30-hbPG24-CH2-triazole-TEG-(18)F showed a radius of 84 nm and conventional liposomes with (18)F-cholesten 204 nm, respectively. The results revealed fast uptake of the conventional liposomes by liver, spleen, and lung. Most importantly, the novel hbPG-polymer stabilized liposomes showed similar behavior to the PEG-shielded vesicles. Thus, an advantage of multifunctionality is achieved with retained pharmacokinetic properties. The approach expands the scope of polymer tracking in vivo and liposome tracing in mice via PET.

Biodegradable hyperbranched polyether-lipids with in-chain pH-sensitive linkages

Hyperbranched polyether-based lipids with cleavable acetal units were obtained via copolymerization of the epoxide inimer 1-(glycidyloxy)ethyl ethylene glycol ether (GEGE) and glycidol, using anionic ring-opening polymerization. Cholesterol-linear polyglycerol (Ch-linPG) was used as a macroinitiator, resulting in branched polyethers with an adjustable amount of acid-cleavable units. Random copolymerization led to Ch-P(GEGEx-co-Gy) copolymers, whereas sequential copolymerization provided access to Ch-P(GEGEx-b-Gy) amphiphiles. The amount of GEGE was varied between 8–49 mol% of the total amount of monomer units. In addition, hyperbranched polyethers with a single acetal unit were prepared using glycol-1-(cholesteryloxy)ethylether as an initiator for the polymerization of allyl glycidyl ether (AGE) in bulk. Subsequent thiol–ene coupling of mercaptoethanol resulted in the hydroxyl functional macroinitiator used for the polymerization of glycidol. The novel polyether-based lipids were characterized in detail by 1H NMR spectroscopy and size exclusion chromatography, revealing narrow to moderate molecular weight distributions. Degradation was achieved at pH 2 in a proof-of-principle experiment. Acid-triggered shedding of liposomes was proven using the linear analogue α-(1-(cholesteryloxy)ethoxy)-ω-hydro-PEG-CH2-CCH with one cleavable group and a fluorescence label, Atto 488 azide. Investigation of the acetal-cleavage under neutral and acidic pH (7.4–2.0) via fluorescence spectroscopy was carried out.

Orthogonal Click Conjugation to the Liposomal Surface Reveals the Stability of the Lipid Anchorage as Crucial for Targeting

Synthetic access to multiple surface decorations are a bottleneck in the development of liposomes for receptor mediated targeting. This opens a complex multiparameter space, exploration of which is severely limited in terms of sample numbers and turnaround times. Here, we unlock this technological barrier by a combination of a milligram-scale liposome formulation using dual centrifugation and orthogonal click chemistry on the liposomal surface. Application of these techniques to conceptually new amphiphilic compounds, which feature norbornene and alkyne groups at the apex of sterically stabilizing, hyperbranched polyglycerol moieties, revealed a particular influence of the membrane anchor of functional amphiphiles. Folic acid residues clicked to cholesterol-based amphiphiles were inefficient in folate-mediated cell targeting, while dialkyl-anchored amphiphiles remained stable in the liposomal membrane and imparted efficient targeting properties. These findings are of specific importance considering the popularity of cholesterol as a lipophilic anchor.