Unimolecular micelles of amphiphilic cyclodextrin-core star-like block copolymers for anticancer drug delivery

Abstract

Well-defined star-like amphiphilic polymers composed of a β-cyclodextrin core, from which 21 hydrophobic poly(lactic acid) arms and hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) arms are grafted sequentially, form robust and uniform unimolecular micelles that are biocompatible and efficient in the delivery of anticancer drugs.

Silver Metallic Cyclodextrin‐Core Star mPEG

“…For example, when compared to their linear counterparts, they are able to accommodate higher density of functional groups in a small space . From the viewpoint of molecular aggregation states, they may be unimolecular micelles, or multi‐molecular self‐assemblies (even ones with novel morphology) . Therefore, star polymers have found wide applications in some fields such as drug delivery, catalytic systems, and nanoreactors .…”

“…From the viewpoint of molecular aggregation states, they may be unimolecular micelles, or multi‐molecular self‐assemblies (even ones with novel morphology) . Therefore, star polymers have found wide applications in some fields such as drug delivery, catalytic systems, and nanoreactors . With respect to construction of star polymers, β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD) is widely used as the core, due to its 21 hydroxy groups for reactive sites.…”

“…Therefore, star polymers have found wide applications in some fields such as drug delivery, catalytic systems, and nanoreactors . With respect to construction of star polymers, β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD) is widely used as the core, due to its 21 hydroxy groups for reactive sites. In our previous work, we synthesized β‐CD‐core star copolymer with Y‐shaped ABC miktoarms poly(ethylmethacrylate(‐ b ‐poly(2‐(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate)‐ b ‐methoxypolyethylene glycol (PEMA(‐ b ‐PDEA)‐ b ‐mPEG) and the doxorubicin (DOX)‐conjugated β‐CD‐core star nano‐copolymer prodrugs .…”

“…β‐CD‐core copolymers could exhibit unimolecular micelles in aqueous solution. Compared with that of multi‐molecular self‐assemblies, a key property of unimolecular micelles is good stability under dilution and they are therefore suitable for applications at different concentrations . Hence, in this paper a novel metallic β‐CD‐core star polymer through rational molecular design is reported.…”

A Facile and Highly Efficient Route to Amphiphilic Star‐Like Rod‐Coil Block Copolymer via a Combination of Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization with Thiol–Ene Click Chemistry

“…In general, three strategies, that is, core‐first, arm‐first, and grafting‐onto approaches are used to synthesize star‐like polymers. The core‐first approach affords star‐like polymers by utilizing a multifunctional initiator as the core to grow linear polymers as the arms 5,6. Star‐like polymers are also synthesized through the grafting‐onto method by the coupling reaction between the core with a functional coupling group and the arm with a complementary reactive end group 7,8.…”