Discovery and use of biocompatible polymers offers great promise in the pharmaceutical field, particularly in drug delivery systems. Disulphide bonds, which commonly occur in peptides and proteins and have been used as drug-glutathione conjugates, are reductively cleaved in the colon. The intrinsic stability of a disulphide relative to thiol groups is determined by the redox potential of the environment. The objective of this study was to synthesise a trimesic acid-based disulphide cross-linked polymer that could potentially be used for targeted delivery to the colon. The monomer was synthesised by an amide coupling reaction between trimesic acid and (triphenylmethyl) thioethylamine using a two-step synthesis method. The s-trityl group was removed using a cocktail of trifluoroacetic acid and triethylsilane to expose the thiols in preparation for further polymerisation. The resulting polymers (P10, P15, P21, P25, and P51, generated using different molar ratios) were reduced after 1.5 h of reduction time. Scanning electron microscopy images of the polymers showed spherical, loose, or tight patterns depending on the molar ratio of polymerisation. These polymers also exhibited efficient dissolution under various gastrointestinal conditions. Of the five polymers tested, P10 and P15 appeared to be promising drug delivery vehicles for poorly soluble drugs, due to the hydrophobic nature of the polymers.
Keywords: colon targeted delivery; disulphide cross-linked polymer; reduction response; trimesic acid.