Issue 17, 2024

The sweetest polymer nanoparticles: opportunities ahead for glycogen in nanomedicine

Abstract

Most cells take simple sugar (α-D-glucose) and assemble it into highly dense polysaccharide nanoparticles called glycogen. This is achieved through the action of multiple coupled-enzymatic reactions, yielding the cellular store of polymerised glucose to be degraded in times of metabolic need. These nanoparticles can be readily isolated from various animal tissues and plants, and are commercially available on a large scale. Importantly, glycogen is highly water soluble, non-toxic, low-fouling, and biodegradable, making it an attractive nanoparticle for use in nanomedicine, for both diagnosing and treating disease. This concept has been pursued actively recently, with exciting results on a variety of fronts, especially for targeting specific tissues and delivering nucleic acid and peptide cargo. In this perspective, the role of glycogen in nanomedicine going forward is discussed, with opportunities highlighted of where these sugary nanoparticles fit into the problem of treating disease.

Graphical abstract: The sweetest polymer nanoparticles: opportunities ahead for glycogen in nanomedicine

Article information

Article type
Perspective
Submitted
28 Feb 2024
Accepted
12 Apr 2024
First published
12 Apr 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Soft Matter, 2024,20, 3577-3584

The sweetest polymer nanoparticles: opportunities ahead for glycogen in nanomedicine

Q. A. Besford, Soft Matter, 2024, 20, 3577 DOI: 10.1039/D4SM00261J

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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