Facile Fabrication of 10-Hydroxycamptothecin-Backboned Amphiphilic Polyprodrug with Precisely Tailored Drug Loading Content for Controlled Release

Bioconjug Chem. 2018 Jul 18;29(7):2239-2247. doi: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.8b00238. Epub 2018 Jun 13.

Abstract

Polymeric prodrugs with precisely controlled drug loading content (DLC) and rapid intracellular destabilization generally require complicated chemistry that hinders large-scale manufacture. For this purpose, we reported in this study a facile construction of reduction-sensitive amphiphilic polyprodrugs with an anticancer drug, 10-hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT), and a hydrophilic poly(ethylene oxide) (PEG) moiety as the alternating building blocks of the multiblock copolymer using Cu(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAc) click coupling between azide-SS-HCPT-SS-azide and alkyne-PEG-alkyne. Adoption of PEGs with two different molecular weights (MWs) of 400 and 1450 Da (PEG400 and PEG1450) afforded two polyprodrugs with different DLCs. Both formulations can self-assemble into spherical micelles with hydrodynamic diameter smaller than 200 nm, and exhibit glutathione (GSH)-triggered degradation for promoted drug release. A further comparison study revealed that the PEG1450-based polyprodrug is a better formulation than the analogue constructed from PEG400 in terms of in vitro drug release behaviors, and cytotoxicity. This work thus provides a facile yet efficient strategy toward polymeric prodrugs with precisely controlled DLC and reduction-triggered degradation for enhanced anticancer drug delivery.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Agents / administration & dosage
  • Camptothecin / administration & dosage
  • Camptothecin / analogs & derivatives*
  • Cycloaddition Reaction / methods
  • Delayed-Action Preparations / chemical synthesis*
  • Delayed-Action Preparations / chemistry
  • Drug Liberation*
  • Humans
  • Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
  • Micelles
  • Molecular Weight
  • Polyethylene Glycols / therapeutic use
  • Polymers / chemistry
  • Polymers / therapeutic use*
  • Prodrugs / chemical synthesis*
  • Prodrugs / chemistry
  • Surface-Active Agents / chemistry

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Delayed-Action Preparations
  • Micelles
  • Polymers
  • Prodrugs
  • Surface-Active Agents
  • Polyethylene Glycols
  • 10-hydroxycamptothecin
  • Camptothecin