Ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone initiated by ganciclovir (GCV) for the preparation of GCV-tagged polymeric micelles

Molecules. 2015 Feb 10;20(2):2857-67. doi: 10.3390/molecules20022857.

Abstract

Ganciclovir (GCV) is a nucleoside analogue with antiviral activity against herpes viral infections, and the most widely used antiviral to treat cytomegalovirus infections. However, the low bioavailability and short half-life of GCV necessitate the development of a carrier for sustained delivery. In this study, guanosine-based GCV was used as the initiator directly in ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone (ε-CL) to form hydrophobic GCV-poly(caprolactone) (GCV-PCL) which was then grafted with hydrophilic chitosan to form amphiphilic copolymers for the preparation of stable micellar nanoparticles. Successful synthesis of GCV-PCL and GCV-PCL-chitosan were verified by 1H-NMR analysis. Self-assembled micellar nanoparticles were characterized by dynamic light scattering and zetasizer with an average size of 117 nm and a positive charge of 24.2 mV. The drug release kinetics of GCV was investigated and cytotoxicity assay demonstrated that GCV-tagged polymeric micelles were non-toxic. Our results showed that GCV could be used directly in the initiation of ring-opening polymerization of ε-CL and non-toxic polymeric micelles for GCV delivery can be formed.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antiviral Agents / chemistry
  • Caproates / chemistry*
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Chitosan / chemistry
  • Drug Carriers / chemical synthesis*
  • Drug Carriers / chemistry
  • Drug Carriers / pharmacology
  • Ganciclovir / chemistry*
  • Ganciclovir / pharmacology
  • HT29 Cells
  • Humans
  • Lactones / chemistry*
  • Micelles
  • Nanoconjugates / chemistry*
  • Particle Size

Substances

  • Antiviral Agents
  • Caproates
  • Drug Carriers
  • Lactones
  • Micelles
  • Nanoconjugates
  • caprolactone
  • Chitosan
  • Ganciclovir