Issue 10, 2022

Facile synthesis of a hyperbranched polymer prodrug as unimolecular micelles for overcoming multidrug resistance

Abstract

Unimolecular micelles have attracted more interest as drug delivery systems (DDSs) owing to their superior stability. Here, a hyperbranched polymer prodrug (HBPP) was designed with a high drug content of 57.6% as unimolecular micelles for enhanced intracellular drug delivery via self-condensing vinyl polymerization (SCVP) of the pH-responsive doxorubicin-based prodrug monomer MH-DOX and polyethylene glycol methacrylate (PEGMA) with p-chloromethylstyrene (CMS) as an inimer. It could easily form unimolecular micelles with a hydrodynamic diameter of about 130 nm. Enhanced intracellular pH-triggered drug release was achieved owing to the unique structure, with a cumulative release of 91.8% within 58.5 h due to an auto-acceleration effect but with a minimal premature drug leakage of 3.9%. The enhanced intracellular drug delivery performance endowed the proposed unimolecular micelles with good inhibition of tumor growth on DOX-resistant MCF-7 (MCF-7/ADR) cells, showing promising potential for overcoming multidrug resistance.

Graphical abstract: Facile synthesis of a hyperbranched polymer prodrug as unimolecular micelles for overcoming multidrug resistance

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
17 Dec 2021
Accepted
06 Feb 2022
First published
08 Feb 2022

Polym. Chem., 2022,13, 1369-1375

Facile synthesis of a hyperbranched polymer prodrug as unimolecular micelles for overcoming multidrug resistance

J. Li and P. Liu, Polym. Chem., 2022, 13, 1369 DOI: 10.1039/D1PY01670A

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