Nanomaterials have great potential to offer effective treatment against devastating diseases by providing sustained release of high concentrations of therapeutic agents locally, especially when the route of administration allows for direct access to the diseased tissues. Biodegradable polyphosphoester-based polymeric micelles and shell cross-linked knedel-like nanoparticles (SCKs) have been designed from amphiphilic block-graft terpolymers, PEBP-b-PBYP-g-PEG, which effectively incorporate high concentrations of paclitaxel (PTX). Well-dispersed nanoparticles physically loaded with PTX were prepared, exhibiting desirable physiochemical characteristics. Encapsulation of 10 wt% PTX, into either micelles or SCKs, allowed for aqueous suspension of PTX at concentrations up to 4.8 mg/mL, as compared to <2.0 μg/mL for the aqueous solubility of the drug alone. Drug release studies indicated that PTX released from these nanostructures was defined through a structure-function relationship, whereby the half-life of sustained PTX release was doubled through cross-linking of the micellar structure to form SCKs. In vitro, physically loaded micellar and SCK nanotherapeutics demonstrated IC50 values against osteosarcoma cell lines, known to metastasize to the lungs (CCH-OS-O and SJSA), similar to the pharmaceutical Taxol formulation. Evaluation of these materials in vivo has provided an understanding of the effects of nanoparticle structure-function relationships on intratracheal delivery and related biodistribution and pharmacokinetics. Overall, we have demonstrated the potential of these novel nanotherapeutics toward future sustained release treatments via administration directly to the sites of lung metastases of osteosarcoma.

There has been an increasing interest to develop new types of stimuli-responsive drug delivery vehicles with high drug loading and controlled release properties for chemotherapeutics. An acid-labile, polyphosphoester-based degradable, polymeric paclitaxel (PTX) conjugate containing ultra-high levels of PTX loading has been improved significantly, in this second generation development, which involves connection of each PTX molecule to the polymer backbone via a pH-sensitive β-thiopropionate linkage. The results for this system indicate that it has great potential as an effective anti-cancer agent. Poly(ethylene oxide)-block-polyphosphoester-graft-PTX drug conjugate (PEO-b-PPE-g-PTX G2) was synthesized by organocatalyst-promoted ring-opening polymerization of 2-(but-3-en-1-yloxy)-1,3,2-dioxaphospholane-2-oxide from a PEO macroinitiator, followed by thermo-promoted thiolene click conjugation of a thiol-functionalized PTX prodrug to the pendant alkene groups of the block copolymer. The PEO-b-PPE-g-PTX G2 formed well-defined nanoparticles in aqueous solution, by direct dissolution into water, with a number-averaged hydrodynamic diameter of 114 ± 31 nm. The conjugate had PTX loading capacity as high as 53 wt%, and a maximum PTX concentration of 0.68 mg/mL in water (vs. 1.7 μg/mL for free PTX). Although the PTX concentration is ca. 10× less than for our first generation material, its accelerated release allowed for similar free PTX concentrations vs. time. The PEO-b-PPE-g-PTX G2 exhibited accelerated drug release under acidic conditions (~50 wt% PTX released in 8 d) compared to neutral conditions (~20 wt% PTX released in 8 d) and compared to the first generation analog that contained ester linkages between PTX and the polymer backbone (<5 wt% PTX released in 4 d), due to their acid-sensitive hydrolytically-labile β-thiopropionate linkages between PTX molecules and the polymer backbone. The positive cell-killing activity of PEO-b-PPE-g-PTX G2 against two cancer cell lines was demonstrated, and the presence of pendant reactive functionality provides a powerful platform for future work to involve conjugation of multiple numbers and/or types of targeting ligands, other drugs and imaging agents to achieve chemotherapy and bioimaging. Compared to our previously reported polyphosphoester-based PTX drug conjugates, PEO-b-PPE-g-PTX G1 without the β-thiopropionate linker, the PEO-b-PPE-g-PTX G2 showed pH-triggered drug release property and 5-to-8-fold enhanced in vitro cytotoxcity against two cancer cell lines.

A novel polyphosphoester (PPE) with vinyl ether side chain functionality was developed as a versatile template for postpolymerization modifications, and its degradability and biocompatibility were evaluated. An organo-catalyzed ring-opening polymerization of ethylene glycol vinyl ether-pendant cyclic phosphotriester monomer allowed for construction of poly(ethylene glycol vinyl ether phosphotriester) (PEVEP). This vinyl ether-functionalized PPE scaffold was coupled with hydroxyl- or thiol-containing model small molecules via three different types of conjugation chemistries—thiol—ene “click” reaction, acetalization, or thio-acetalization reaction—to afford modified polymers that accommodated either stable thio–ether or hydrolytically labile acetal or thio–acetal linkages. Amphiphilic diblock copolymers of poly(ethylene glycol) and PEVEP formed well-defined micelles with a narrow and monomodal size distribution in water, as confirmed by dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The stability of the micelles and the hydrolytic degradability of the backbone and side chains of the PEVEP block segment were assessed by DLS and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H and 31P), respectively, in aqueous buffer solutions at pH values of 5.0 and 7.4 and at temperatures of 25 and 37 °C. The hydrolytic degradation products of the PEVEP segments of the block copolymers were then identified by electrospray ionization, gas chromatography, and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry. The parent micelles and their degradation products were found to be non-cytotoxic at concentrations up to 3 mg/mL, when evaluated with RAW 264.7 mouse macrophages and OVCAR-3 human ovarian adenocarcinoma cells.

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