Star‐Shaped Polymer Consisting of a Porphyrin Core and Poly(L‐lysine) Dendron Arms: Synthesis,Drug Delivery,and In Vitro Chemo/Photodynamic Therapy

A novel star‐shaped polymer, porphyrin‐poly(L‐lysine) dendrons (PP‐PLLD), is synthesized by the click reaction between azido‐modified porphyrin and propargyl focal point poly(L‐lysine) dendrons. Its chemical structure is characterized by ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) is analyses etc. Due to its amphiphilic property, the obtained PP‐PLLD has a low critical micelle concentration in an aqueous solution, and can load doxorubicin (DOX) with a loading amount of 64 μg mg⁻¹. By in vitro toxicity assay, PP‐PLLD has no dark cytotoxicity but has significant phototoxicity. Moreover, DOX‐loaded PP‐PLLD shows a higher cytotoxicity under the light condition than PP‐PLLD or DOX alone, suggesting PP‐PLLD has a potential application in combined photodynamic therapy and chemotherapy.