Folic Acid-Decorated <i>β</i>-Cyclodextrin-Based Poly(ε-caprolactone)-dextran Star Polymer with Disulfide Bond-Linker as Theranostic Nanoparticle for Tumor-Targeted MRI and Chemotherapy

• Main Authors: Huikang Yang (Author), Nianhua Wang (Author), Ruimeng Yang (Author), Liming Zhang (Author), Xinqing Jiang (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: MDPI AG, 2021-12-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

<i>β</i>-cyclodextrin(<i>β</i>CD)-based star polymers have attracted much interest because of their unique structures and potential biomedical and biological applications. Herein, a well-defined folic acid (FA)-conjugated and disulfide bond-linked star polymer ((FA-Dex-SS)-<i>β</i>CD-(PCL)₁₄) was synthesized via a couple reaction between <i>β</i>CD-based 14 arms poly(ε-caprolactone) (<i>β</i>CD-(PCL)₁₄) and disulfide-containing α-alkyne dextran (alkyne-SS-Dex), and acted as theranostic nanoparticles for tumor-targeted MRI and chemotherapy. Theranostic nanoparticles were obtained by loading doxorubicin (DOX), and superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) particles were loaded into the star polymer nanoparticles to obtain ((FA-Dex-SS)-<i>β</i>CD-(PCL)₁₄@DOX-SPIO) theranostic nanoparticles. In vitro drug release studies showed that approximately 100% of the DOX was released from disulfide bond-linked theranostic nanoparticles within 24 h under a reducing environment in the presence of 10.0 mM GSH. DOX and SPIO could be delivered into HepG2 cells efficiently, owing to the folate receptor-mediated endocytosis process of the nanoparticles and glutathione (GSH), which triggered disulfide-bonds cleaving. Moreover, (FA-Dex-SS)-<i>β</i>CD-(PCL)₁₄@DOX-SPIO showed strong MRI contrast enhancement properties. In conclusion, folic acid-decorated reduction-sensitive star polymeric nanoparticles are a potential theranostic nanoparticle candidate for tumor-targeted MRI and chemotherapy.

Item Description

10.3390/pharmaceutics14010052
1999-4923