Despite the numerous advantages of nanomedicines, their
therapeutic
efficacy is hampered by biological barriers, including fast in vivo clearance, poor tumor accumulation, inefficient
penetration, and cellular uptake. Herein, cross-linked supersmall
micelles based on zwitterionic hyperbranched polycarbonates can overcome
these challenges for efficiently targeted drug delivery. Biodegradable
acryloyl/zwitterion-functionalized hyperbranched polycarbonates are
synthesized by a one-pot sequential reaction of Michael-type addition
and ring-opening polymerization, followed by controlled modification
with carboxybetaine thiol. Cross-linked supersmall zwitterionic micelles
(X-CBMs) are readily prepared by straightforward self-assembly and
UV cross-linking. X-CBMs exhibit prolonged blood circulation because
of their cross-linked structure and zwitterion decoration, which resist
protein corona formation and facilitate escaping RES recognition.
Combined with the advantage of supersmall size (7.0 nm), X-CBMs mediate
high tumor accumulation and deep penetration, which significantly
enhance the targeted antitumor outcome against the 4T1 tumor model
by administration of the paclitaxel (PTX) formulation (X-CBM@PTX).
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