Injectable hydrogels for targeted delivering of therapeutic molecules for tissue engineering and disease treatment

Hydrogels are cross‐linked three‐dimensional polymeric networks that play a vital role in solving the pharmacological and clinical limitations of the existing systems due to their unique physical properties such as affinity for biological fluids, tunable porous nature, high water content, ease of preparation, flexibility, and biocompatibility. Hydrogel also mimics the living natural tissue, which opens several opportunities for its use in biomedical areas. Injectable hydrogel allows temporal control and exceptional spatial arrangements and can offset hitches with established hydrogel‐based drug delivery systems. Here, we review the recent development of injectable hydrogels and their significance in the delivery of therapeutics such as cells, genes, and drug molecules and how these innovatory systems can complement the current delivery systems.     

Phase transition behavior of novel pH-sensitive polyaspartamide derivatives grafted with 1-(3-aminopropyl)imidazole

New pH-sensitive polyaspartamide derivatives were synthesized by grafting 1-(3-aminopropyl)imidazole and/or O-(2-aminoethyl)-O'-methylpoly(ethylene glycol) 5000 on polysuccinimide for application in intracellular drug delivery systems. The DS of 1-(3-aminopropyl)imidazole was adjusted by the feed molar ratio, and the structure of the prepared polymer was confirmed using FT-IR and 1H NMR spectroscopy. Their pH-sensitive properties were characterized by light transmittance measurements, and the particle size and its distribution were investigated by dynamic light scattering measurements at varying pH values. The pH-sensitive phase transition was clearly observed in polymer solutions with a high substitution of 1-(3-aminopropyl)imidazole. The prepared polymers showed a high buffering capacity between pH 5 and 7, and this increased with the DS of 1-(3-aminopropyl)imidazole. The pH dependence of the aggregation and de-aggregation behavior was examined using a fluorescence spectrometer. For MPEG/imidazole-g-polyaspartamides with a DS of 1-(3-aminopropyl)imidazole over 82%, self aggregates associated with the hydrophobic interactions of the unprotonated imidazole groups were observed at pH values above 7, and their mean size was over 200 nm, while the aggregates of polymers were dissociated at pH values below 7 by the protonation of imidazole groups. These pH-sensitive polyaspartamide derivatives are potential basic candidates for intracellular drug delivery carriers triggered by small pH changes.     

A General Strategy for Macrotheranostic Prodrug Activation: Synergy between the Acidic Tumor Microenvironment and Bioorthogonal Chemistry

Prodrugs activated by endogenous stimuli face the problem of tumor heterogeneity. Bioorthogonal prodrug activation that utilizes an exogenous click reaction has the potential to solve this problem, but most of the strategies currently used rely on the presence of endogenous receptors or overexpressed enzymes. We herein integrate the acidic, extracellular microenvironment of a tumor and a click reaction as a general strategy for prodrug activation. This was achieved by using a tumor pH‐responsive polymer containing tetrazine groups, which formed unreactive micelles in the blood but disassembled in response to tumor pH. The vinyl ether group on the macrotheranostic prodrug (CyPVE) is activated by the tetrazine groups, which was confirmed by tumor‐specific fluorescence activation and phototoxicity restoration. Therefore, the bioorthogonal reactions in the context of the ubiquitous acidic tumor microenvironment can provide a general strategy for bioorthogonal prodrug activation.     

Cationic polyrotaxanes effectively inhibit uptake via carnitine/organic cationic transporters without cytotoxicity

We examined the inhibitory effect of cationic polyrotaxanes, which consist of alpha-cyclodextrins threaded on a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) chain, on the activity of the intestinal carnitine/organic cation transporter, OCTN2, in OCTN2 gene-transfected HEK293/PDZK1 cells. The cationic polyrotaxanes effectively inhibited the OCTN2-mediated carnitine transport. Polyrotaxanes with a longer PEG chain exhibited a greater inhibitory effect, possibly owing to multivalent interactions with binding sites on OCTN2. These cationic polyrotaxanes were far less cytotoxic than conventional polycations, and are therefore interesting candidates as low-toxicity inhibitors of cation transport at cell surfaces.     

Copolymers for hepatocyte-specific targeting carrying galactose and hydrophobic alkyl groups

Core-forming hydrophobic alkyl groups were incorporated into amphiphilic PVLA to enhance the stability and inclusion ability of the homopolymeric micelles in water. The CAC and hepatocyte targeting in the synthesized P(VLA-co-VBH) were investigated in vitro. The CAC of the copolymers decreased and the stability of the copolymeric micelles increased with the incorporation of hydrophobic groups into the homopolymer. The galactose moieties in the copolymer could be recognized by the ASGP-R of the hepatocytes through a receptor-mediated mechanism. The copolymers efficiently delivered a water-insoluble drug to the hepatocytes. Hence, they be used to deliver hydrophobic drugs to cure various liver diseases.     

功能多肽在肿瘤治疗中的应用及研究进展

多肽具有生物相容性好,功能多样化,生物体内响应性高及合成修饰方法简单易行等优点,已被广泛用于构建靶向药物传递系统。以具有靶向功能和刺激响应性的多肽为基础构建的药物传递系统,能够将药物定向地运送到肿瘤区域。药物传递系统到达肿瘤组织后,在肿瘤组织特殊微环境或外源刺激下,实现药物的精准释放。这种具有特异性肿瘤靶向和刺激响应型的多肽载体可以最大程度地提高药物的抗肿瘤效果,降低药物的毒副作用。本文简要介绍了常用的靶向多肽和刺激响应型多肽,并讨论了基于功能型多肽的药物载体在肿瘤治疗方面的应用。     

Cell-specific internalization study of an aptamer from whole cell selection

Nucleic acid aptamers have been shown many unique applications as excellent probes in molecular recognition. However, few examples are reported which show that aptamers can be internalized inside living cells for aptamer functional studies and for targeted intracellular delivery. This is mainly due to the limited number of aptamers available for cell-specific recognition, and the lack of research on their extra- and intracellular functions. One of the major difficulties in aptamers' in vivo application is that most of aptamers, unlike small molecules, cannot be directly taken up by cells without external assistance. In this work, we have studied a newly developed and cell-specific DNA aptamer, sgc8. This aptamer has been selected through a novel cell selection process (cell-SELEX), in which whole intact cells are used as targets while another related cell line is used as a negative control. The cell-SELEX enables generation of multiple aptamers for molecular recognition of the target cells and has significant advantages in discovering cell surface binding molecules for the selected aptamers. We have studied the cellular internalization of one of the selected aptamers. Our results show that sgc8 is internalized efficiently and specifically to the lymphoblastic leukemia cells. The internalized sgc8 aptamers are located inside the endosome. Comparison studies are done with the antibody for the binding protein of sgc8, PTK7 (Human protein tyrosine kinase-7) on cell surface. We also studied the internalization kinetics of both the aptamer and the antibody for the same protein on the living cell surface. We have further evaluated the effects of sgc8 on cell viability, and no cytotoxicity is observed. This study indicates that sgc8 is a promising agent for cell-type specific intracellular delivery.     

An optimized RGD-decorated micellar drug delivery system for albendazole for the treatment of ovarian cancer: from RAFT polymer synthesis to cellular uptake

Block copolymers were prepared via RAFT polymerization with P(PEGMEMA) as the hydrophilic block to form micelles for the controlled delivery of ABZ. The group contribution method was used to estimate the partial solubility parameters for ABZ and various polymers as potential core‐forming block to achieve optimum compatibility. Different ratios between MMA and LMA, a non‐compatible monomer, were prepared. Cytotoxicity tests revealed a high toxicity of the ABZ‐loaded micelle resulting in 80% cell deaths at a micelle concentration of 10 µg · mL^?1. Cellular uptake of micelles has been studied using fluorescently labeled micelles, showing that a large fraction of micelles is readily taken up by OVCAR‐3 cells. RGD‐conjugated micelles were prepared and showed an increased cellular uptake.

     

Amphiphilic cationic [dendritic poly(L-lysine)]-block-poly(L-lactide)-block-[dendritic poly(L-lysine)]s in aqueous solution: self-aggregation and interaction with DNA as gene delivery carriers

A new series of triblock [dendritic poly(L-lysine)]-block-PLLA-block-[dendritic poly(L-lysine)]s (DL(2) -PLLA-DL(2) ) with PLLA block lengths of 11.5-26.5 and double 2-generation PLL dendrons DL(2) as model cationic amphiphiles were synthesized and characterized. Their CAC, self-aggregation and plasmid DNA binding affinities in pure water and PBS were studied. The PLLA block length dependence of particle size, morphology and ξ potential for organized pDNA/amphiphile polyplex aggregates were examined. Finally, toxicities of these DL(2) -PLLA-DL(2) amphiphiles and their polyplexes were assayed by MTT with HeLa, SMMC-7721 and COS-7 cells, and COS-7 cell luciferase and eGFP gene transfection efficacies with these amphiphiles as the delivery carriers were investigated.