A tumor-acidity-activated charge-conversional nanogel as an intelligent vehicle for promoted tumoral-cell uptake and drug delivery

Stimulus-sensitive polymeric nanoparticles and their applications as drug and gene carriers

Polymeric nanoparticles are promising candidates as drug and gene carriers. Among polymeric nanoparticles, those that are responsive to internal or external stimuli are of greater interest because they allow more efficient delivery of therapeutics to pathological regions. Stimulus-sensitive polymeric nanoparticles have been fabricated based on numerous nanostructures, including micelles, vesicles, crosslinked nanoparticles, and hybrid nanoparticles. The changes in chemical or physical properties of polymeric nanoparticles that occur in response to single, dual, or multiple stimuli endow these nanoparticles with the ability to retain cargoes during circulation, target the pathological region, and release their cargoes after cell internalization. This Review focuses on the most recent developments in the preparation of stimulus-sensitive polymeric nanoparticles and their applications in drug and gene delivery.

pH‐Responsive Drug Delivery by Amphiphilic Copolymer through Boronate–Catechol Complexation

Stimuli‐responsive micellar nanoparticles are gaining considerable attention in the field of drug delivery because of their great advantages of high efficiency in tumor accumulation through the enhanced permeability and retention effect and rapid drug release. In this study, a novel catechol moiety‐containing amphiphilic, biodegradable polymeric carrier, monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol)‐block‐poly(ε‐caprolactone)‐block‐poly(L‐lysine)‐graft‐[3‐(3,4‐dihydroxyphenyl)propionic acid], was employed for delivery of the anticancer drug bortezomib (BTZ) to cancer cells. The strategy is based on the facile conjugation of BTZ to catechol‐containing polymeric carriers through boronate formation, which could dissociate in acidic environments to liberate its payload BTZ to inhibit proteasome function. This reducing BTZ–catechol interaction with decreasing pH value was demonstrated by microcalorimetry analysis using isothermal titration calorimetry. Notably, the obtained micellar BTZ complex that self‐assembled from drug‐loaded amphiphilic polymer was internalized effectively by MCF‐7 breast cancer cells and resulted in significant 26S proteasome inhibition. Furthermore, the micellar BTZ complex induced remarkable apoptosis on MCF‐7 and HeLa cancer cells and exhibited little toxicity on HEK293 normal cells. More importantly, systemic delivery of micellar BTZ complex prolonged its blood circulation and resulted in significant accumulation in the tumor site relative to free drug, thus suggesting therapeutic promise for micellar BTZ delivery in cancer therapy.

Enhanced endocytosis of acid-sensitive doxorubicin derivatives with intelligent nanogel for improved security and efficacy

The combination of acid-sensitive doxorubicin derivatives with a pH and reduction dual-responsive nanogel exhibited improved chemotherapy security and efficacy.

Surfactant free preparation of biodegradable dendritic polyglycerol nanogels by inverse nanoprecipitation for encapsulation and release of pharmaceutical biomacromolecules

In this paper we report a novel approach to generate biodegradable polyglycerol nanogels on different length scales. We developed a mild, surfactant free inverse nanoprecipitation process to template hydrophilic polyglycerol nanoparticles. In situ crosslinking of the precipitated nanoparticles by bioorthogonal copper catalyzed click chemistry allows us to obtain size defined polyglycerol nanogels (100-1000nm). Biodegradability was achieved by the introduction of benzacetal bonds into the net points of the nanogel. Interestingly, the polyglycerol nanogels quickly degraded into low molecular weight fragments at acidic pH values, which are present in inflamed and tumor tissues as well as intracellular organelles, and they remained stable at physiological pH values for a long time. This mild approach to biodegradable polyglycerol nanogels allows us to encapsulate labile biomacromolecules such as proteins, including the therapeutic relevant enzyme asparaginase, into the protein resistant polyglycerol network. Enzymes were encapsulated with an efficacy of 100% and after drug release, full enzyme activity and structural integrity were retained. This new inverse nanoprecipitation procedure allows the efficient encapsulation and release of various biomacromolecules including proteins and could find many applications in polymer therapeutics and nanomedicine.

Controlled Formation of Microgels/Nanogels from a Disulfide-Linked Core/Shell Hyperbranched Polymer

A general approach to controlled formation of microgels/nanogels is developed for producing hydrogel particles with customizable structures and properties, especially for fabricating multilayered hydrogel particles with flexibly designable structures and properties of each layer. An inverse emulsion technique is adopted to obtain micro- or nanodroplets of a disulfide-linked core/shell hyperbranched polymer. Then pH of the droplets is manipulated to trigger and control in situ core/shell separation of the polymer, dissociation of the shells, and cross-linking of the cores, in the confined space at micro/nanoscales. Loose and compact microgels/nanogels with diverse properties like particle size and swelling capacity are yielded via adjusting the gelation time. Multilayered hydrogel particles with each tailor-made layer are further prepared using the controlled in situ gelation method in association with a seed emulsion technique.

Dual stimuli-responsive polymeric hollow nanogels designed as carriers for intracellular triggered drug release

Dual stimuli-responsive hollow nanogel spheres serving as an efficient intracellular drug delivery platform were obtained from the spontaneous coassociation of two graft copolymers into the vesicle architecture in aqueous phase. Both copolymers comprise acrylic acid (AAc) and 2-methacryloylethyl acrylate (MEA) units as the backbone and either poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) alone or both PNIPAAm and monomethoxypoly(ethylene glycol) (mPEG) chain segments as the grafts. The assemblies were then subjected to covalent stabilization within vesicle walls with ester-containing cross-links by radical polymerization of MEA moieties, thereby leading to hollow nanogel particles. Taking the advantage of retaining a low quantity of payload within polymer layer-enclosed aqueous chambers through the entire loading process, doxorubicin (DOX) in the external bulk phase can be effectively transported into the gel membrane and bound therein via electrostatic interactions with ionized AAc residues and hydrogen-bond pairings with PNIPAAm grafts at pH 7.4. With the environmental pH being reduced (e.g., from 7.4 to 5.0) at 37 °C, the extensive disruption of AAc/DOX complexes due to the reduced ionization of AAc residues within the gel layer and the pronounced shrinkage of nanogels enable the rapid release of DOX species from drug-loaded hollow nanogels. By contrast, the drug liberation at 4 °C was severally restricted, particularly at pH 7.4 at which the DOX molecules remain strongly bound with ionized AAc residues and PNIPAAm grafts. The in vitro characterizations suggest that the DOX-loaded hollow nanogel particles after being internalized by HeLa cells via endocytosis can rapidly release the payload within acidic endosomes or lysosomes. This will then lead to significant drug accumulation in nuclei (within 1 h) and a cytotoxic effect comparable to free drug. This work demonstrates that the novel DOX-loaded hollow nanogel particles show great promise of therapeutic efficacy for potential anticancer treatment.

Development and evaluation of 5-fluorouracil loaded chitin nanogels for treatment of skin cancer

This study focuses on development and evaluation of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) loaded chitin nanogels (FCNGs). It formed good, stable aqueous dispersion with spherical particles in 120-140 nm size range and showed pH responsive swelling and drug release. The FCNGs showed toxicity on melanoma (A375) in a concentration range of 0.4-2.0mg/mL, but less toxicity toward human dermal fibroblast (HDF) cells by MTT assay. Confocal analysis revealed uptake of FCNGs by both cells. From skin permeation experiments, FCNGs showed almost same steady state flux as that of control 5-FU but the retention in the deeper layers of skin was found to be 4-5 times more from FCNGs. Histopathological evaluation revealed loosening of the horny layer of epidermis by interaction of cationically charged chitin, with no observed signs of inflammation and so FCNGs can be a good option for treatment of skin cancers.

Molecular engineered super-nanodevices: smart and safe delivery of potent drugs into tumors

A super-nanodevice engineered at molecular level integrates various desired properties in a smart and coordinated way, and can "switch on" or "turn off" certain functionalities as required. Importantly, it can break through complex physiological barriers, and then precisely ferry potent toxic triptolide into tumor cells in vivo, thus significantly maximizing the therapeutic efficacy and reducing the drug toxicity.

Multistage pH-responsive liposomes for mitochondrial-targeted anticancer drug delivery

Zwitterionic oligopeptide liposomes (HHG2C(18)-L) containing a smart lipid (1,5-dioctadecyl-L-glutamyl 2-histidyl-hexahydrobenzoic acid, HHG2C(18)) are developed to overcome the barriers faced by anticancer drugs on the route from the site of injection into the body to the final antitumor target within transport steps with multiple physiological and biological barriers. HHG2C(18)-L show the multistage pH-responsive to the tumor cell (the mitochondria in this case). Their multistage pH response leads to more effective entry of the tumor cell, improved escape from the endolysosomes, and accumulation at the mitochondria (see picture).

Stimuli-responsive polymeric nanocarriers for the controlled transport of active compounds: concepts and applications

The use of polymeric nanocarriers to transport active compounds like small-molecular drugs, peptides, or genes found an increased attention throughout the different fields of natural sciences. Not only that these nanocarriers enhance the properties of already existing drugs in terms of solubility, bioavailability, and prolonged circulation times, furthermore they can be tailor-made in such a manner that they selectively release their cargo at the desired site of action. For the triggered release, these so-called smart drug delivery systems are designed to react on certain stimuli like pH, temperature, redox potential, enzymes, light, and ultrasound. Some of these stimuli are naturally occurring in vivo, for example the difference in pH in different cellular compartments while others are caused by the disease, which is to be treated, like differences in pH and temperature in some tumor tissues. Other external applied stimuli, like light and ultrasound, allow the temporal and spatial control of the release, since they are not triggered by any biological event. This review gives a brief overview about some types of stimuli-responsive nanocarriers with the main focus on organic polymer-based systems. Furthermore, the different stimuli and the design of corresponding responsive nanocarriers will be discussed with the help of selected examples from the literature.

Polymer nanogels: a versatile nanoscopic drug delivery platform

In this review we put the spotlight on crosslinked polymer nanogels, a promising platform that has the characteristics of an "ideal" drug delivery vehicle. Some of the key aspects of drug delivery vehicle design like stability, response to biologically relevant stimuli, passive targeting, active targeting, toxicity and ease of synthesis are discussed. We discuss several delivery systems in this light and highlight some examples of systems, which satisfy some or all of these design requirements. In particular, we point to the advantages that crosslinked polymeric systems bring to drug delivery. We review some of the synthetic methods of nanogel synthesis and conclude with the diverse applications in drug delivery where nanogels have been fruitfully employed.

Thermally controlled release of anticancer drug from self-assembled γ-substituted amphiphilic poly(ε-caprolactone) micellar nanoparticles

A thermo-responsive poly{γ-2-[2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy]ethoxy-ε-caprolactone}-b-poly(γ-octyloxy-ε-caprolactone) (PMEEECL-b-POCTCL) diblock copolymer was synthesized by ring-opening polymerization using tin octanoate (Sn(Oct)(2)) catalyst and a fluorescent dansyl initiator. The PMEEECL-b-POCTCL had a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of 38 °C, and it was employed to prepare thermally responsive micelles. Nile Red and Doxorubicin (DOX) were loaded into the micelles, and the micellar stability and drug carrying ability were investigated. The size and the morphology of the cargo-loaded micelles were determined by DLS, AFM, and TEM. The Nile-Red-loaded polymeric micelles were found to be stable in the presence of both fetal bovine serum and bovine serum albumin over a 72 h period and displayed thermo-responsive in vitro drug release. The blank micelles showed a low cytotoxicity. As comparison, the micelles loaded with DOX showed a much higher in vitro cytotoxicity against MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line when the incubation temperature was elevated above the LCST. Confocal laser scanning microscopy was used to study the cellular uptake and showed that the DOX-loaded micelles were internalized into the cells via an endocytosis pathway.

Transferrin-conjugated micelles: enhanced accumulation and antitumor effect for transferrin-receptor-overexpressing cancer models

As the transport protein for iron, transferrin can trigger cellular endocytosis once binding to its receptor (TfR) on the cell membrane. Using this property, we conjugated transferrin onto the surface of biodegradable polymeric micelles constructed from amphiphilic block copolymers. The core of micelle was either labeled with a near-infrared dye (NIR) or conjugated with a chemotherapeutic drug paclitaxel (PTX) to study the biodistribution or antitumor effect in nude mice bearing subcutaneous TfR-overexpressing cancers. DLS and TEM showed that the sizes of Tf-conjugated and Tf-free micelles were in the range of 85-110 nm. Confocal laser scanning microscopy and flow cytometry experiments indicated that the uptake efficiency of the micelles by the TfR-overexpressing cells was enhanced by Tf conjugation. Semiquantitative analysis of the NIR signals collected from the tumor site showed that the maximum accumulation was achieved at 28 h in the M(NIR) group, while at 22 h in Tf-M(NIR) groups; and the area under the intensity curve in the Tf-M(NIR) groups was more than that in M(NIR) group. Finally, the tumor inhibition effects of targeting micelles were studied with the gastric carcinoma model which overexpressed TfR. The analysis of tumor volumes and the observation of H&E-stained tumor sections showed that Tf-M(PTX) had the best antitumor effect compared with the control groups (saline, PTX, and M(PTX)). The results of this study demonstrated the potential application of Tf-conjugated polymeric micelles in the treatment of TfR-overexpressing cancers.

Cell-specific intracellular anticancer drug delivery from mesoporous silica nanoparticles with pH sensitivity

A nanoreservoir for efficient intracellular anticancer drug delivery based on mesoporous silica nanoparticles end-capped with lactobionic acid-grafted bovine serum albumin is fabricated. It demonstrates great potential for both cell-specific endocytosis and intracellular pH-responsive controlled release of drugs. A possible endocytosis pathway/mechanism of the smart controlled drug release system is proposed.

Sheddable ternary nanoparticles for tumor acidity-targeted siRNA delivery

Drug delivery systems for cancer therapy usually need to be sterically stabilized by a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) layer during blood circulation to minimize nonspecific interactions with serum components. However, PEGylation significantly reduces cellular uptake of the delivery systems after they accumulate at the tumor site, which markedly impairs the in vivo antitumor efficiency. Here, we develop a ternary small interfering RNA (siRNA) delivery system with tumor acidity-activated sheddable PEG layer to overcome the challenge. The sheddable nanoparticle is fabricated by introducing a tumor acidity-responsive PEGylated anionic polymer to the surface of positively charged polycation/siRNA complexes via electrostatic interaction. We show clear evidence that introducing the PEGylated anionic polymer to the surface of a nanoparticle markedly reduces its nonspecific interactions with protein. We further demonstrate that the nanoparticle is capable of deshielding the PEG layer at the slightly acidic tumor extracellular microenvironment to facilitate the delivery of siRNA to the tumor cells after accumulation at the tumor site. Accordingly, this promotes the RNA-interfering efficiencies and enhances the inhibition of tumor growth. Such delivery system with the ability to deshield the PEG layer at the target tissues has remarkable potential in cancer therapy.

Facile preparation of a cationic poly(amino acid) vesicle for potential drug and gene co-delivery

A novel pH-responsive poly(amino acid) grafted with oligocation was prepared through the combination of ring-opening polymerization (ROP) and subsequent atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Firstly, poly(γ-2-chloroethyl-L-glutamate) (PCELG) with a pendent 2-chloroethyl group was synthesized through ROP of γ-2-chloroethyl-L-glutamate N-carboxyanhydride (CELG NCA) using n-hexylamine as the initiator. Then, PCELG was used to initiate the ARTP of 2-aminoethyl methacrylate hydrochloride (AMA), yielding poly(L-glutamate)-graft-oligo(2-aminoethyl methacrylate hydrochloride) (PLG-g-OAMA). The pK(a) of PLG-g-OAMA was 7.3 established by the acid-base titration method. The amphiphilic poly(amino acid) could directly self-assemble into a vesicle in PBS. The vesicle was characterized by TEM and DLS. Hydrophilic DOX·HCl was loaded into the hollow core of the vesicle. The in vitro release behavior of DOX·HCl from the vesicle in PBS could be adjusted by the solution pH. In vitro cell experiments revealed that the vesicle could reduce the toxicity of the DOX·HCl. In addition, the preliminary gel retardation assay displayed that PLG-g-OAMA could efficiently bind DNA at a PLG-g-OAMA/DNA weight ratio of 0.3 or above, indicating its potential use as a gene carrier. More in-depth studies of the PLG-g-OAMA vesicle for drug and gene co-delivery in vitro and in vivo are in progress.

Dysregulated pH: a perfect storm for cancer progression

Although cancer is a diverse set of diseases, cancer cells share a number of adaptive hallmarks. Dysregulated pH is emerging as a hallmark of cancer because cancers show a 'reversed' pH gradient with a constitutively increased intracellular pH that is higher than the extracellular pH. This gradient enables cancer progression by promoting proliferation, the evasion of apoptosis, metabolic adaptation, migration and invasion. Several new advances, including an increased understanding of pH sensors, have provided insight into the molecular basis for pH-dependent cell behaviours that are relevant to cancer cell biology. We highlight the central role of pH sensors in cancer cell adaptations and suggest how dysregulated pH could be exploited to develop cancer-specific therapeutics.

A sustained release formulation of chitosan modified PLCL:poloxamer blend nanoparticles loaded with optical agent for animal imaging

The objective of this study was to develop optical imaging agent loaded biodegradable nanoparticles with indocynanine green (ICG) using chitosan modified poly(L-lactide-co-epsilon-caprolactone) (PLCL):poloxamer (Pluronic F68) blended polymer. Nanoparticles were formulated with an emulsification solvent diffusion technique using PLCL and poloxamer as blend-polymers. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and chitosan were used as stabilizers. The particle size, shape and zeta potential of the formulated nanoparticles and the release kinetics of ICG from these nanoparticles were determined. Further, biodistribution of these nanoparticles was studied in mice at various time points until 24 h following intravenous administration, using a non-invasive imaging system. The average particle size of the nanoparticles was found to be 146 ± 3.7 to 260 ± 4.5 nm. The zeta potential progressively increased from - 41.6 to + 25.3 mV with increasing amounts of chitosan. Particle size and shape of the nanoparticles were studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) which revealed the particles to be smooth and spherical in shape. These nanoparticles were efficiently delivered to the cytoplasm of the cells, as observed in prostate and breast cancer cells using confocal laser scanning microscopy. In vitro release studies indicated sustained release of ICG from the nanoparticles over a period of seven days. Nanoparticle distribution results in mice showing improved uptake and accumulation with chitosan modified nanoparticles in various organs and slower clearance at different time points over a 24 h period as compared to unmodified nanoparticles. The successful formulation of such cationically modified nanoparticles for encapsulating optical agents may lead to a potential deep tissue imaging technique for tumor detection, diagnosis and therapy.