Crosslinked polymer nanocapsules for therapeutic, diagnostic, and theranostic applications

Abstract

Crosslinked polymer nanocapsules (CPNCs) are hollowed nanoparticles with network-like polymeric shells stabilized by primary bonds. CPNCs have drawn broad and significant interests as nanocarriers for biomedical applications in recent years. As compared with conventional polymeric nanoparticles systems without cavity and/or crosslinking architectures, CPNCs possess significant biomedical relevant advantages, including (a) superior structural stability against environmental conditions, (b) high loading capacity and ability for region-specific loading of multiple cargos, (c) tuneable cargo release rate via crosslinking density, and (d) high specific surface area to facilitate surface adsorption, modification, and interactions. With appropriate base polymers and crosslinkages, CPNCs can be biocompatible and biodegradable. While CPNCbased biomedical nanoplatforms can possess relatively stable physicochemical properties owing to their crosslinked architectures, various biomedically relevant stimuli-responsivities can be incorporated with them through specific structural designs. CPNCs have been studied for the delivery of small molecule drugs, genes, proteins, and other therapeutic agents. They have also been investigated as diagnostic platforms for magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound imaging, and optical imaging. Moreover, CPNCs have been utilized to carry both therapeutics and bioimaging agents for theranostic applications. This article reviews the therapeutic, diagnostic and theranostic applications of CPNCs, as well as the preparation of these CPNCs, reported in the past decade.

Cargo‐Templated Crosslinked Polymer Nanocapsules and Their Biomedical Applications

“…This formulation has been widely used to design an enhanced therapeutic enzyme platform for the treatment of metabolic diseases. [ 15 ] This novel architecture of the CT‐CPNC also motivated in‐depth discussions and thoughts into the fundamental mechanism of CT‐CPNC formation. Liu and co‐workers demonstrated through molecular simulation that the monomers (acrylamide, A1 ) were locally concentrated around each cargo, showing a peak concentration located 4–5 nm away from the cargo surface in an aqueous solution.…”

“…The particle size of CT‐CPNCs can be varied from 10–200 nm depending on the cargoes and synthesis conditions. [ 15 ] For example, single‐protein CT‐CPNCs with a small particle size (10–30 nm) usually have a long circulation half life in vivo, showing the potential for the treatment of metabolic diseases such as hyperuricemia [29b,50] . Blood–brain barrier (BBB) is a highly regulated brain endothelial structure, which provides shelter to the brain.…”

“…[ 14 ] Compared with noncrosslinked formulations (e.g., polymeric micelles, polymersomes, and polymer–drug conjugates), CPNCs are more suitable for applications requiring delivery vehicles with persistent size and shape because of their stable nanostructures. [ 15 ] Specifically, CPNCs can readily maintain structural integrity against a series of destabilizing factors after intravenous administration, including shear stress in the bloodstream and interaction with serum proteins, thereby inhibiting undesired leakage of the cargoes. According to the biological characteristics of different diseases, CPNCs can be engineered with stimuli–responsiveness to achieve extracellular and/or intracellular release of the cargoes under certain stimuli such as acidic pH, redox potentials, and enzymes [14b,16] .…”

Antibody-Drug Conjugates: The New Frontier of Chemotherapy

“…Non-targeted nanoparticles such as liposomal-based preparations [ 110 ] polymeric [ 111 ] and metallic nanoparticles [ 112 , 113 ] are readily available for the conjugation with antibodies and drugs, potentially opening the possibility to develop theragnostic (therapeutics and diagnostics) agents. These formulations can reduce the toxicity profiles of the payloads and improve the therapeutic widow.…”

Recent Advances on Lignocellulosic-Based Nanopesticides for Agricultural Applications

“…On the other hand, nanoparticles crosslinked by cellulose have received an increased attention in the agricultural sector due to their good stability under environmental conditions (Sun et al, 2020). For instance, stimuli-responsive nanocapsules based on cellulose modified with fatty acid (undec-10-enoic) loaded captan and pyraclostrobin were developed against apple canker (Neonectria ditissima), and the results showed that the active ingredients were released when triggered by the presence of cellulolytic fungi (Machado et al, 2021).…”