Poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate) Capped pH-Responsive Poly(2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) Brushes Grafted on Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles as Nanocarrier

Abstract

In this paper, a new pH-responsive nanosystem based on mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) was developed for cancer therapy. Poly(2-(diethylamino) ethyl methacrylate) (PDEAEMA) was grafted on their outer surface and acts as a gatekeeper, followed by subsequent modification of the polymer by cysteine (MSN-PDEAEMA-Cys) and poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate) (MSN-PDEAEMA-Cys-POEGMEMA). The physicochemical properties of these nanocarriers were characterized using scanning and transmission electron microscopies (SEM and TEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The synthesized nanoparticles were well-dispersed with a diameter of ca. 200 nm. The obtained XPS results confirm the successful modification of MSN-PDEAEMA with Cys and POEGMEMA by increasing the peak intensity of C–O and C=O groups at 286.5 and 288.5 eV, respectively. An anti-cancer drug, doxorubicin (DOX), was encapsulated into the fabricated nanoplatform. The DOX release amount at physiological pH of 7.4 was limited (10%), while an accumulation drug release of ca. 35% was accomplished after 30 h in acidic media. The MTT cell line was used to assess the cytotoxicity of the unloaded and DOX-loaded fabricated nanoplatforms. Upon loading of DOX on these nanomaterials, they showed significant toxicity to human liver cancer cells. These results suggest that the prepared nano-structured materials showed good biocompatibility as well, and they can serve as nanocarriers for the delivery of anti-cancer drugs.

Charge‐Reversible Nanoparticles: Advanced Delivery Systems for Therapy and Diagnosis

“…However, their charge was found to revert in acidic environments to approximately −15 mV. [53] Imines with alkyl or aryl groups are also acid-labile. The difference between these two classes of imines is mainly in size and electronic properties of the attached groups.…”

Tumor Microenvironment Regulation and Cancer Targeting Therapy Based on Nanoparticles

“…However, the polymer nanocarriers still remained uncontrolled in bioavailability and drug release at the tumor site. More and more polymer nanocarriers with the capacity of targeting and stimuli-response were designed for cancer therapy [ 123 , 124 , 125 , 126 , 127 ]. Enhanced permeability and retention (EPR), ligand receptor, polypeptide-mediated tumor targeting and pH, enzyme, hypoxia, and light-response are often considered in the design of nanocarriers ( Figure 3 ).…”

Advances in design of polymer brush functionalized inorganic nanomaterials and their applications in biomedical arena

“…Poly(acrylic acid) (PAA), poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) (Chen et al, 2021; Hollingsworth & Larson, 2021; Simonova et al, 2021; Yu et al, 2020; Zhang et al, 2020), PDMAEMA (Ko et al, 2021; Lewoczko et al, 2021; Raynold et al, 2021), poly((diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDEAEMA) (Alotaibi et al, 2021; Beagan, Alghamdi, et al, 2020; Beagan, Lahmadi, et al, 2020), and poly(4‐vinylpyridine) (P4VP) are used as pH‐sensitive systems (Feng et al, 2019; Raczkowska et al, 2019; Zhang et al, 2018). The high swelling capacity accomplished in the saturated state of charge, normally ranging from 400% to 700% (Lego et al, 2010; Sanjuan et al, 2007) comes from positively or negatively charged monomers and concomitant osmotic pressure, which gives rise to durable intra‐ and interchain repulsive forces.…”