Issue 34, 2017

Poly(glycerol sebacate) nanoparticles for encapsulation of hydrophobic anti-cancer drugs

Abstract

Physical encapsulation of hydrophobic compounds into nanocarriers that are stable in aqueous medium is of high interest as it can increase solubilization of the drug, lower its toxicity, control its pharmacokinetic profile and thus overall improve the therapeutic efficacy. To increase solubilization of a drug in aqueous medium, the carrier should contain hydrophobic domains that can form non-covalent interactions with hydrophobic drug molecules. Apart from liposomes, polymers have been widely acknowledged as promising nanocarriers. In this paper, we report the design of poly(glycerol sebacate) (PGS), an inexpensive, water insoluble but biodegradable and biocompatible polymer, into nanocarriers for hydrophobic drugs. Mixing of alcoholic PGS solutions with water (i.e. solvent displacement) produced a fine and highly stable dispersion with a size that can be controlled by the PGS concentration and solvent to water ratio. These dispersions were used for the encapsulation of hydrophobic compounds such as a fluorescent dye and two drugs known for their anti-mitotic activity (i.e. paclitaxel (PTX) and flubendazole (FLU)). These formulations were then evaluated in vitro with cancer cells.

Graphical abstract: Poly(glycerol sebacate) nanoparticles for encapsulation of hydrophobic anti-cancer drugs

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 Des 2016
Accepted
31 Jan 2017
First published
31 Jan 2017

Polym. Chem., 2017,8, 5033-5038

Poly(glycerol sebacate) nanoparticles for encapsulation of hydrophobic anti-cancer drugs

B. Louage, L. Tack, Y. Wang and B. G. De Geest, Polym. Chem., 2017, 8, 5033 DOI: 10.1039/C6PY02192A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements