1. Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Heyrovsky Sq. 2, 162 06 Prague 6, Czech Republic;2. Institute of Microbiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Videnska 1083, 142 20 Prague 4, Czech Republic
Abstract:
A novel actively targeted polymer carrier for anticancer drugs based on an N‐(2‐hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide copolymer (PHPMA) is proposed. An oligopeptide sequence GE7, attached to the polymer, is a specific ligand for the EGF receptor overexpressed on most tumor cells. Co‐attachment of selected chemotherapeutics will therefore lead to formation of tumor‐specific polymer therapeutics, further enhanced by the EPR effect. FACS measurements prove elevated binding activity of the fluorescently labeled PHPMA/GE7 conjugate in EGFR‐rich cells (FaDu, MCF‐7), compared to conjugates of scrambled peptides. Cell lines with low EGFR level (SW620, B16F10) bind the GE7 conjugate significantly less.
