Design and synthesis of redox and oxidative dual responsive block copolymer micelles for intracellular drug delivery

Incorporating redox-sensitive nanogels into bioabsorbable nanofibrous membrane to acquire ROS-balance capacity for skin regeneration

Facing the high incidence of skin diseases, it is urgent to develop functional materials with high bioactivity for wound healing, where reactive oxygen species (ROS) play an important role in the wound healing process mainly via adjustment of immune response and neovasculation. In this study, we developed a kind of bioabsorbable materials with ROS-mediation capacity for skin disease therapy. Firstly, redox-sensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-acrylic acid) (PNA) nanogels were synthesized by radical emulsion polymerization method using a disulfide molecule as crosslinker. The resulting nanogels were then incorporated into the nanofibrous membrane of poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) via airbrushing approach to offer bioabsorbable membrane with redox-sensitive ROS-balance capacity. In vitro biological evaluation indicated that the PNA-contained bioabsorbable membrane improved cell adhesion and proliferation compared to the native PLLA membrane. In vivo study using mouse wound skin model demonstrated that PNA-doped nanofibrous membranes could promote the wound healing process, where the disulfide bonds in them were able to adjust the ROS level in the wound skin for mediation of redox potential to achieve higher wound healing efficacy.

Photosynthesis-inspired H2 generation using a chlorophyll-loaded liposomal nanoplatform to detect and scavenge excess ROS

A disturbance of reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis may cause the pathogenesis of many diseases. Inspired by natural photosynthesis, this work proposes a photo-driven H2-evolving liposomal nanoplatform (Lip NP) that comprises an upconversion nanoparticle (UCNP) that is conjugated with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) via a ROS-responsive linker, which is encapsulated inside the liposomal system in which the lipid bilayer embeds chlorophyll a (Chla). The UCNP functions as a transducer, converting NIR light into upconversion luminescence for simultaneous imaging and therapy in situ. Functioning as light-harvesting antennas, AuNPs are used to detect the local concentration of ROS for FRET biosensing, while the Chla activates the photosynthesis of H2 gas to scavenge local excess ROS. The results thus obtained indicate the potential of using the Lip NPs in the analysis of biological tissues, restoring their ROS homeostasis, possibly preventing the initiation and progression of diseases.

Polymers and Polymer Nanocomposites for Cancer Therapy

Synthetic polymers, biopolymers, and their nanocomposites are being studied, and some of them are already used in different medical areas. Among the synthetic ones that can be mentioned are polyolefins, fluorinated polymers, polyesters, silicones, and others. Biopolymers such as polysaccharides (chitosan, hyaluronic acid, starch, cellulose, alginates) and proteins (silk, fibroin) have also become widely used and investigated for applications in medicine. Besides synthetic polymers and biopolymers, their nanocomposites, which are hybrids formed by a macromolecular matrix and a nanofiller (mineral or organic), have attracted great attention in the last decades in medicine and in other fields due to their outstanding properties. This review covers studies done recently using the polymers, biopolymers, nanocomposites, polymer micelles, nanomicelles, polymer hydrogels, nanogels, polymersomes, and liposomes used in medicine as drugs or drug carriers for cancer therapy and underlines their responses to internal and external stimuli able to make them more active and efficient. They are able to replace conventional cancer drug carriers, with better results.

Degradable, thermo-, pH- and redox-sensitive hydrogel microcapsules for burst and sustained release of drugs

Polymer microcapsules offer a possibility of storing increased amounts of drugs. Appropriate design and composition of the microcapsules allow tuning of the drug-release process. In this paper, we report on synthesis of hydrogel microcapsules sensitive to temperature and pH and degradable by glutathione and hydrogen peroxide. Microcapsules were based on thermo-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) and degradable cystine crosslinker, and were synthesized by applying precipitation polymerization. Such way of polymerization was appropriately modified to limit the crosslinking in the microcapsule center. This led to a possibility of washing out the pNIPA core at room temperature and the formation of a capsule. Microcapsules revealed rather high drug-loading capacity of ca. 17%. The degradation of the microcapsules by the reducing agent (GSH) and the oxidizing agent (H₂O₂) was confirmed by using the DLS, UV-Vis, SEM and TEM techniques. Depending on pH and concentration of the reducing/oxidizing agents a fast or slow degradation of the microcapsules and a burst or long-term release of doxorubicin (DOX) were observed. The DOX loaded microcapsules appeared to be cytotoxic against A2780 cancer cells similarly to DOX alone, while unloaded microcapsules did not inhibit proliferation of the cells.

Recent Advances on Reactive Oxygen Species-Responsive Delivery and Diagnosis System

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play crucial roles in biological metabolism and intercellular signaling. However, ROS level is dramatically elevated due to abnormal metabolism during multiple pathologies, including neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, cancer, and premature aging. By taking advantage of the discrepancy of ROS levels between normal and diseased tissues, a variety of ROS-sensitive moieties or linkers have been developed to design ROS-responsive systems for the site-specific delivery of drugs and genes. In this review, we summarized the ROS-responsive chemical structures, mechanisms, and delivery systems, focusing on their current advances for precise drug/gene delivery. In particular, ROS-responsive nanocarriers, prodrugs, and supramolecular hydrogels are summarized in terms of their application for drug/gene delivery, and common strategies to elevate or diminish cellular ROS concentrations, as well as the recent development of ROS-related imaging probes were also discussed.

Facile Strategies to Synthesize Dual Location Dual Acidic pH/Reduction-Responsive Degradable Block Copolymers Bearing Acetal/Disulfide Block Junctions and Disulfide Pendants

We report new dual acidic pH/reduction-responsive degradable amphiphilic block copolymers featured with dual acidic pH-labile acetal linkage and a reductively-cleavable disulfide bond at the hydrophilic/hydrophobic block junction as well as pendant disulfide bonds in the hydrophobic block. Centered on the use of a macroinitiator approach, three strategies utilize the combination of atom transfer radical polymerization and reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer polymerization in a sequential or concurrent mechanism, along with facile coupling reactions. Combined structural analysis with dual-stimuli-responsive degradation investigation allows better understanding of the architectures and orthogonalities of the formed block copolymers as a diblock or a triblock copolymer. Our study presents the development of effective synthetic strategies to well-defined multifunctional amphiphilic block copolymers that exhibit dual-stimuli-responsive degradation at dual location (called the DL-DSRD strategy), thus potentially promising as nanoassemblies for effective drug delivery.