Fundamental Studies of Hybrid Poly(2-(diisopropylamino)ethyl methacrylate)/Poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) Films and Capsules

Engineering mannosylated nanogels with membrane-disrupting properties

In this work, mannosylated core-cross-linked nanogels are designed that contain cationic moieties in their core.

Particle Targeting in Complex Biological Media

Over the past few decades, nanoengineered particles have gained increasing interest for applications in the biomedical realm, including diagnosis, imaging, and therapy. When functionalized with targeting ligands, these particles have the potential to interact with specific cells and tissues, and accumulate at desired target sites, reducing side effects and improve overall efficacy in applications such as vaccination and drug delivery. However, when targeted particles enter a complex biological environment, the adsorption of biomolecules and the formation of a surface coating (e.g., a protein corona) changes the properties of the carriers and can render their behavior unpredictable. For this reason, it is of importance to consider the potential challenges imposed by the biological environment at the early stages of particle design. This review describes parameters that affect the targeting ability of particulate drug carriers, with an emphasis on the effect of the protein corona. We highlight strategies for exploiting the protein corona to improve the targeting ability of particles. Finally, we provide suggestions for complementing current in vitro assays used for the evaluation of targeting and carrier efficacy with new and emerging techniques (e.g., 3D models and flow-based technologies) to advance fundamental understanding in bio-nano science and to accelerate the development of targeted particles for biomedical applications.

Engineered Hydrogen-Bonded Glycopolymer Capsules and Their Interactions with Antigen Presenting Cells

Hollow glycopolymer microcapsules were fabricated by hydrogen-bonded layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly, and their interactions with a set of antigen presenting cells (APCs), including dendritic cells (DCs), macrophages (MACs), and myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), were investigated. The glycopolymers were obtained by cascade postpolymerization modifications of poly(oligo(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline methacrylate)-stat-glycidyl methacrylate) involving the modification of the glycidyl groups with propargylamine and the subsequent attachment of mannose azide by copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC). Multilayer assembly of the hydrogen-bonding pair (glycopolymer/poly(methacrylic acid) (PMA)) onto planar and particulate supports (SiO₂ particles, d = 1.16 μm) yielded stable glycopolymer films upon cross-linking by CuAAC. The silica (SiO₂) particle templates were removed yielding hollow monodisperse capsules, as demonstrated by fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy. Cellular uptake studies using flow cytometry revealed the preferential uptake of the capsules by DCs when compared to MACs or MDSCs. Mannosylated capsules showed a cytokine independent cis-upregulation of CD80 specifically on DCs and a trans-downregulation of PDL-1 on MDSCs. Thus, the glycopolymer capsules may have potential as vaccine carriers, as they are able to upregulate costimulatory molecules for immune cell stimulation on DCs and at the same time downregulate immune inhibitory receptors on suppressor APC such as MDSCs.

Drug-loaded pseudo-block copolymer micelles with a multi-armed star polymer as the micellar exterior

Supramolecular constructed pseudo block copolymer micelles based on β-cyclodextrin terminated 4 and 7 armed star poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) and adamantane terminated linear poly(ε-caprolactone) were prepared. The size, morphology, stability and protein adsorption were experimentally examined. The micelles with 7 armed PVP chains as the micellar exterior showed the lowest amount of protein adsorption and the best stability in media. When cabazitaxel, a new taxane, was loaded into the micelles, 14.4% drug loading content and 85% encapsulation efficacy were achieved. In vitro cytotoxicity studies demonstrated that the cabazitaxel-loaded micelles show significant cytotoxicity against drug-resistant A2780/T cell lines. Biodistribution studies showed that the micelles can almost double the content of cargo in tumor sites compared with the free cargo. In vivo antitumor activity examinations indicated that cabazitaxel-loaded micelles show superior antitumor activity over free paclitaxel and free cabazitaxel.