Yuxia Luan

A review of polypeptide-based polymersomes

Self-assembled systems from biodegradable amphiphilic polymers at the nanometer scale, such as nanotubes, nanoparticles, polymer micelles, nanogels, and polymersomes, have attracted much attention especially in biomedical fields. Among these nano-aggregates, polymersomes have attracted tremendous interests as versatile carriers due to their colloidal stability, tunable membrane properties and ability of encapsulating or integrating a broad range of drugs and molecules. Biodegradable block polymers, especially aliphatic polyesters such as polylactide, polyglycolide and poly (ε-caprolactone) have been widely used as biomedical materials for a long time to well fit the requirement of biomedical drug carriers. To have a precise control of the aggregation behavior of nano-aggregates, the more ordered polypeptide has been used to self-assemble into the drug carriers. In this review we focus on the study of polymersomes which also named pepsomes formed by polypeptide-based copolymers and attempt to clarify the polypeptide-based polymersomes from following aspects: synthesis and characterization of the polypeptide-based copolymers, preparation, multifunction and application of polypeptide-based polymersomes.

Ionic Liquid Assisted Synthesis of Au–Pd Bimetallic Particles with Enhanced Electrocatalytic Activity

Morphology- and composition-controlled synthesis of Au-Pd bimetallic particles was realized by a facile ionic liquid assisted route at room temperature. The morphologies of the synthesized particles, such as nanoflake-constructed spheres with a core-shell structure, nanoparticle-constructed spheres, and nanoparticle-constructed dendrites, could be well controlled by the present route. The ionic liquid was found to play a key role in the formation of these interesting particles. Moreover, the composition (Au:Pd) of the particles could be modulated by means of the molar ratio of the metal precursors in the feeding solutions. The Au-Pd bimetallic particles exhibit high electrocatalytic activity toward oxidation of ethanol and formic acid. Furthermore, cyclic voltammetric studies on the as-prepared Au-Pd bimetallic particles revealed good electroactivity for H2O2, which results in an effective amperometric H2O2 sensor.

Disulfide-Linked Amphiphilic Polymer-Docetaxel Conjugates Assembled Redox-Sensitive Micelles for Efficient Antitumor Drug Delivery

Here, we prepared novel redox-sensitive drug delivery system based on copolymer-drug conjugates methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(γ-benzyl l-glutamate)-disulfide-docetaxel (mPEG-PBLG-SS-DTX) to realize the desirable cancer therapy. First, copolymers of methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(γ-benzyl l-glutamate) (mPEG-PBLGs) with different molecular weight (mPEG2000-PBLG1750 and mPEG5000-PBLG1750) were synthesized via the ring open polymerization (ROP) of 5-benzyl-l-glutamate-N-carboxyanhydride (γ-Bzl-l-Glu-NCA) initiated by monoamino-terminated mPEG (mPEG-NH2). Then, the docetaxel (DTX) was conjugated to the block polymers through a linkage containing disulfide bond to obtain mPEG-PBLG-SS-DTXs, including mPEG2000-PBLG1750-SS-DTX and mPEG5000-PBLG1750-SS-DTX. The obtained copolymer-drug conjugates mPEG2000-PBLG1750-SS-DTX and mPEG5000-PBLG1750-SS-DTX could self-assemble into nanosized micelles in aqueous environment via dialysis method with a low critical micelle concentration (CMC, 3.98 and 6.94 μg/mL, respectively). The size of the micelles was approximately 101.3 and 148.9 nm, respectively, with a narrow size distribution. They released approximately 40% DTX in a sustained way in the presence of 50 mM DTT after 120 h in comparison with only approximately 10% DTX released from micelles in the absence of DTT. The high cytotoxicity was identified for mPEG-PBLG-SS-DTXs micelles against MCF-7/ADR and A549 cells, and the IC50 of mPEG-PBLG-SS-DTXs micelles against MCF-7/ADR for 24 h was roughly a 15th of the value of free DTX. Moreover, the mPEG-PBLG-SS-DTXs micelles could be efficiently uptaken by MCF-7/ADR and A549 cells. Thus, the present constructed mPEG-PBLG-SS-DTXs micelles were very promising for effective cancer therapy.

Formation of drug/surfactant catanionic vesicles and their application in sustained drug release.

The aggregation behavior of the cationic drug/anionic surfactant vesicles formed by tetracaine hydrochloride (TH) and double-chain surfactant, sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT), was investigated. By controlling the molar ratio of TH to AOT, a transition from catanionic vesicles to micelles was observed. The catanionic aggregates exhibited different charge properties, structures, interaction enthalpies and drug release behaviors depending on the composition. To characterize the cationic drug/anionic surfactant system, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), conductivity, turbidity and zeta potential (ζ) measurements were performed. The drug release results indicate that the present drug-containing catanionic vesicles have promising applications in drug delivery systems. Furthermore, the percentage of drug distributed in the catanionic vesicles or micelles can be obtained by comparing the cumulative release of the corresponding aggregates with the pure drug solution.

Folate-conjugated hybrid SBA-15 particles for targeted anticancer drug delivery.

Surface functionalization is one of the key steps toward the utilization of mesoporous materials in drug delivery system. Here, the folic acid (FA) ligands are conjugated onto poly(ethylene imine) (PEI) modified SBA-15 particles (PEI/SBA-15) via amide reaction, which results in the FA/PEI/SBA-15 particles. Doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX), an anticancer drug, is successfully loaded into these particles. The in vitro cytotoxicity and cellular uptake of the empty FA/PEI/SBA-15 particles and the DOX-loaded ones are evaluated on two kinds of cancer cells (HeLa cells and A549 cells). Specifically, an excellent cellular uptake using the current anticancer drug delivery vehicles (DOX-loaded FA/PEI/SBA-15 particles) mediated by the FA receptor is demonstrated by fluorescence microscope and flow cytometry. The FA/PEI/SBA-15 particles demonstrate a lower cytotoxicity comparing with the PEI/SBA-15 particles, while the DOX-loaded FA/PEI/SBA-15 particles exhibit much greater inhibition to the studied cancer cells. Furthermore, the in vitro release study shows that the targeted FA/PEI/SBA-15 particles have a typical sustained release behavior. This work therefore demonstrates that drug-loaded FA/PEI/SBA-15 particles have great potential application in targeted anticancer drug delivery for cancer therapy.

Co-delivery of docetaxel and chloroquine via PEO-PPO-PCL/TPGS micelles for overcoming multidrug resistance.

The combination of two or more drug is a promising strategy to suppress the multidrug resistance (MDR) through different action mechanisms. Co-delivery drugs via polymeric micelle can minimize the amount of each drug and reduce toxic side effects. Here we co-encapsulate anticancer drug docetaxel (DTX) and autophagy inhibitor chloroquine (CQ) in complex micelles based on poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(propylene oxide)-block-poly(ϵ-caprolactone) (PEO-PPO-PCL) and D-α-tocopheryl poly(ethylene glycol) (TPGS) for enhancing anticancer effects. Two series copolymer with different length of hydrophobic chain were synthesized (PEO68-PPO34-PCL18 and PEO68-PPO34-PCL36) in our lab. The dual-drug micelles possessed nanosize and sustained release profile in vitro. Drug-loaded micelles have low hemolysis rate (<5%), indicating that they are safe for use in vivo. Studies on cellular uptake demonstrate that the micelles can effectively accumulate in cancer cells. Furthermore, in vitro cytotoxicity with different DTX/CQ mass ratio are studied and the sample with a DTX/CQ ratio of 0.8/0.2 is found to have the strongest synergism effect. The co-delivery micelles have obviously higher therapeutic effects against MCF-7 and MCF-7/ADR cells than either free drug or individually DTX-loaded micelles. The IC50 values of DTX/CQ-loaded PEO68-PPO34-PCL18/TPGS and PEO68-PPO34-PCL36/TPGS micelles are 134.16 and 194.74 fold smaller than that of free DTX after 48 h treatment with MCF-7/ADR cells, respectively. Therefore, the as-prepared co-delivery of DTX and CQ based on PEO-PPO-PCL/TPGS micelles can provide a promising combined therapeutic strategy for enhanced antitumor therapy.

Self-assembly properties, aggregation behavior and prospective application for sustained drug delivery of a drug-participating catanionic system.

In the present study, the self-assembly properties, aggregation behavior and potential application of mixed samples formed by an active drug (diclofenac sodium, DS) and conventional surfactant (didodecyldimethyl ammonium bromide, DDAB) are investigated with surface tension, transmission electron microscope (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potential, conductivity, in vitro drug release and hemolytic toxicity measurements. The physicochemical parameters such as critical micelle concentration (CMC), the surface tension at CMC (γCMC), the maximum surface excess concentration (Γ max) and the minimum area per molecule headgroup at the air/water interface (A min) and degree of counterion binding (β) are obtained from the surface tension and electrical conductivity measurements. The results show that diclofenac sodium can decrease the surface tension of water and aggregate in the aqueous solution when its concentration is large enough. The CMC and γCMC of the DS/DDAB mixed systems are found to have values between that of individual DS and DDAB solutions. TEM and DLS results demonstrate the formation of spherical vesicles in a wide range of the molar ratio of the two components. The amount of charge on the vesicles and their stability can be tuned by controlling the amount of drug and surfactant. To evaluate the potential use of the as-prepared DS/DDAB catanionic vesicles in drug delivery systems, the in vitro drug release and hemolytic toxicity are carried out. The results indicate that both the drug release behavior and the hemolytic toxicity are dependent on the composition of the samples, X1 (X1=nDS/n(DS+DDAB), decreasing with the decrease of X1. The results of this work suggested that the drug-participating catanionic vesicles can be used as a safe and an efficient vehicle for sustained drug release.

Sustained release of 5-fluorouracil by incorporation into sodium carboxymethylcellulose sub-micron fibers.

This work introduces a novel route to the sodium carboxymethylcellulose sub-micron fibers loaded with hydrophilic anticancer drug, 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu). The results show that 5-Fu is successfully incorporated into the biocompatible polymer, sodium carboxymethylcellulose (NaCMC)-based fibers with good stability, desired drug loading content and 100% entrapment efficiency. Furthermore, the drug release rate of the as-prepared drug-loaded fibers could be well controlled. The drug release behavior of the 5-Fu-loaded NaCMC fibers shows a diffusion mechanism, obeying Ritger-Peppas kinetics model. The drug release behavior of the as-prepared products demonstrates their promising application in drug delivery system.

Redox-sensitive micelles assembled from amphiphilic mPEG-PCL-SS-DTX conjugates for the delivery of docetaxel

Docetaxel (DTX) can produce anti-tumor effects by inhibiting cell growth and inducing apoptosis. However, the poor solubility of DTX restricts its application and its clinical formulation has caused serious adverse reaction due to the use of Tween-80. In the present study, DTX was conjugated to an amphiphilic di-block polymer to solve these problems. Methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(ε-caprolactone) (mPEG-PCL) was selected as the polymer skeleton and a redox sensitive disulfide bond was used as the linker between DTX and mPEG-PCL. The synthesized mPEG-PCL-SS-DTX conjugates were characterized by (1)H-nuclear magnetic resonance ((1)H NMR) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Interestingly, the mPEG-PCL-SS-DTX conjugates could self-assemble into micelles in aqueous solution. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of mPEG-PCL-SS-DTX micelles was about 2.3mgL(-1) determined using pyrene molecule fluorescent probe method while the size of mPEG-PCL-SS-DTX micelles was determined to be ca. 17.6nm and 116.0nm with a bimodal distribution by dynamic light scattering (DLS). The in vitro release results indicated that the as-prepared micelles exhibited a sustained release profile with good redox sensitive properties. In particular, the hemolytic toxicity test indicated the as-prepared mPEG-PCL-SS-DTX micelles had negligible hemolytic activity, demonstrating their safety in drug delivery system. Cytotoxicity assay of the mPEG-PCL-SS-DTX micelles verified their highly enhanced cytotoxicity to MCF-7/A and A549 cells. These results thus demonstrated that the present redox-sensitive mPEG-PCL-SS-DTX micelle was an efficient and safe sustained drug delivery system in the biomedical area.

Ibuprofen-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) films for controlled drug release

Ibuprofen- (IBU) loaded biocompatible poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) films were prepared by spreading polymer/ibuprofen solution on the nonsolvent surface. By controlling the weight ratio of drug and polymer, different drug loading polymer films can be obtained. The synthesized ibuprofen-loaded PLGA films were characterized with scanning electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and differential scanning calorimetry. The drug release behavior of the as-prepared IBU-loaded PLGA films was studied to reveal their potential application in drug delivery systems. The results show the feasibility of the as-obtained films for controlling drug release. Furthermore, the drug release rate of the film could be controlled by the drug loading content and the release medium. The development of a biodegradable ibuprofen system, based on films, should be of great interest in drug delivery systems.