Synthesis and functionalization of hyperbranched polymers for targeted drug delivery

Abstract

Hyperbranched polymers (HBPs) have found use in a wide range of applications, such as optical, electronic and magnetic materials, coatings, additives, supramolecular chemistry, and biomedicine. HBPs have gained attention for the development of drug delivery systems due to the presence of internal cavities in their three-dimensional globular structure that can be used to encapsulate drugs and their facile synthesis as compared to dendrimers. The composition, topology, and functionality of HBPs have been tuned to design drug carriers with better efficacies. Recent advances have been reported to introduce functional groups to enhance targeting tumor cells. HBPs have been modified to promote passive and active targeting. This review article will describe the different routes to synthesize hyperbranched polymer, their use as drug carriers for targeted drug delivery, and their functionalization with ligands for active targeting through various synthesis strategies to give the reader an extended overview of the progresses accomplished in this field. The modification of HBPs with ligands such as peptides, oligonucleotides, and folic acid have been demonstrated to enhance the accumulation of the drug selectively at the tumor sites. The potential uses and developments of HBPs as nanoobjects for theranostics for example are discussed as perspectives.

Plasmonic photothermal release of docetaxel by gold nanoparticles incorporated onto halloysite nanotubes with conjugated 2D8-E3 antibodies for selective cancer therapy

“…In antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs), a cytotoxic agent is attached using a linker [ 24 ]. Functionalizing nanoparticles with biologically active receptors is an additional strategy for selective tumor targeting with several successful nanoscale drug delivery systems reported [ 25 – 28 ].…”

Prospects of Cationic Carbosilane Dendronized Gold Nanoparticles as Non-viral Vectors for Delivery of Anticancer siRNAs siBCL-xL and siMCL-1

“…Carriers representing nanostructures of several natures are now very promising: polymers, liposomes, dendrimers, quantum dots, and metal nanoparticles [11]. Earlier, both our group [12][13][14] and other researchers [15][16][17] have shown a fairly high efficiency of dendrimers and other hyperbranched polymers as carriers of siRNAs and other therapeutic agents and gold nanoparticles being attractive. Due to their unique properties, AuNPs have been studied as agents in biomedical applications for several decades [18,19].…”

Recent advances in development of dendritic polymer‐based nanomedicines for cancer diagnosis

“…Preparations strategies for hyperbranched polymers have been discussed in previous reviews (Aydogan, Ciftci, & Yagci, 2018; L. Chen, Ge, et al, 2019; S. Chen, Xu, & Zhang, 2018; Kavand, Anton, Vandamme, Serra, & Chan‐Seng, 2020). The general preparation strategies for hyperbranched polymers are based on either a single‐monomer or double‐monomer methodology (SMM or DMM) (Figure 3).…”