Poly(ε-caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol) Tri-Block Copolymer as Quercetin Delivery System for Human Colorectal Carcinoma Cells: Synthesis, Characterization and In Vitro Study

Abstract

Quercetin is a hydrophobic molecule with short blood circulation times and instability. The development of a nano-delivery system formulation of quercetin may increase its bioavailability, resulting in greater tumor suppressing effects. Triblock ABA type polycaprolactone-polyethylenglycol- polycaprolactone (PCL-PEG-PCL) copolymers have been synthetized using ring-opening polymerization of caprolactone from PEG diol. The copolymers were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), diffusion-ordered NMR spectroscopy (DOSY), and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The triblock copolymers self-assembled in water forming micelles consisting of a core of biodegradable polycaprolactone (PCL) and a corona of polyethylenglycol (PEG). The core-shell PCL-PEG-PCL nanoparticles were able to incorporate quercetin into the core. They were characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and NMR. The cellular uptake efficiency of human colorectal carcinoma cells was quantitatively determined by flow cytometry using nanoparticles loaded with Nile Red as hydrophobic model drug. The cytotoxic effect of quercetin-loaded nanoparticles was evaluated on HCT 116 cells, showing promising results.

mRNA Delivery: Challenges and Advances through Polymeric Soft Nanoparticles

“…A major advantage of polymers is the tunability of their physical and chemical properties through structural manipulation and the introduction of desired functional groups. Soft nanoparticles from amphiphilic block copolymers have been extensively investigated for small molecule delivery [47][48][49]. Their utility provides the impetus for the similar optimization of polymeric formulations for mRNA.…”

Recent Advances in Nanotechnology-Based Targeted Delivery Systems of Active Constituents in Natural Medicines for Cancer Treatment

“…The average particle size of polymeric micelles ranges from 20 to 200 nm [32,33]. Amphiphilic copolymer carrier materials, including diblock, triblock, or pentablock copolymers (AB, ABA, ABC, or ABCBA block copolymers) [32,[34][35][36], are commonly synthesized from two or more hydrophilic and hydrophobic copolymers through the esterification reaction, ring opening polymerization, or other methods [13,37]. The normally used raw materials can be divided into three categories: (1) hydrophilic polymers, such as polyethylene glycol (PEG), poly (vinyl pyrrolidone), poly(2-vinylpyridine), etc.…”

“…The normally used raw materials can be divided into three categories: (1) hydrophilic polymers, such as polyethylene glycol (PEG), poly (vinyl pyrrolidone), poly(2-vinylpyridine), etc. [36,38,39]; (2) hydrophobic polymers, such as poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), polycaprolactone (PCL), polylactic acid (PLA), etc. [36,[40][41][42]; (3) amphiphilic block copolymers, mainly including D-alphatocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate (TPGS), Soluplus ® , and Pluronic ® (F127, F68, and P123) [13,[43][44][45][46][47][48][49].…”

“…[36,38,39]; (2) hydrophobic polymers, such as poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), polycaprolactone (PCL), polylactic acid (PLA), etc. [36,[40][41][42]; (3) amphiphilic block copolymers, mainly including D-alphatocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate (TPGS), Soluplus ® , and Pluronic ® (F127, F68, and P123) [13,[43][44][45][46][47][48][49]. The classification and structures of the aforementioned polymers are shown in Table 1.…”

“…Polyethylene glycol (PEG) [34,36] Poly (vinyl pyrrolidone) [39] Poly(2-vinylpyridine) [38] Hydrophobic polymers…”