1. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Jinan, Jinan, China;2. School of Material Science and Engineering, Shandong Jiaotong University, Jinan, China;3. School of Medicine, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, China
Abstract:
Biodegradable self‐assembled polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) composed of poly(6‐O‐methacryloyl‐D‐galactopyranose)‐b‐poly(L‐lactide)‐b‐poly(6‐O‐methacryloyl‐D‐galactopyranose) (PMAGP‐b‐PLA‐b‐PMAGP) are prepared as carriers for the hydrophobic anticancer drug paclitaxel (PTX), to achieve target delivery to hepatoma cells. PTX can be encapsulated by the NPs with various molar ratios of L‐lactide (LA) and 6‐O‐methacryloyl‐D‐galactopyranose (MAGP) during the process of self‐assembly, and the resulting NPs exhibit high drug loading efficacy and substantial stability in aqueous solution. The size, size distribution, and morphology of the NPs are characterized using a Zetasizer Nano ZS and transmission electron microscopy. The hemolysis assay and cell cytotoxicity assay indicate that the polymeric NPs are biocompatible and non‐toxic. The cellular uptake assay demonstrates that the galactose‐containing NPs can be selectively recognized and subsequently accumulate in HepG2 cells. All of these results demonstrate that galactose‐containing polymeric NPs are potential carriers for hepatoma‐targeted drug delivery and liver cancer therapy in clinical medicine.
