Polymeric 3D nano-architectures for transport and delivery of therapeutically relevant biomacromolecules

Abstract

A promising approach for addressing a range of diseases lies in the delivery of functional biomacromolecules such as nucleic acids or proteins to cells. Polymers, peptides and the different shapes accessible through self-assembly of polymeric and peptidic amphiphiles have been widely explored as carriers and as containers for reactions on the nanoscale. These building blocks are particularly interesting, because several essential parameters such as physical characteristics, conditions for degradation or biocompatibility can be tuned to suit specific requirements. In this review, different three-dimensional architectures ranging from dendrimers and hyperbranched molecules to micelles, vesicles and nanoparticles assembled from synthetic polymers and peptides are discussed. It is focused on their function as a carrier for biologically active macromolecules, highlighting seminal examples from the current literature and pointing out the remaining and upcoming challenges in this important area of research.

Stimuli-Triggered Activity of Nanoreactors by Biomimetic Engineering Polymer Membranes

“…46 In addition, the film rehydration method is known as a mild method of enzyme encapsulation, as already reported for nanoreactors based on encapsulation of HRP. 2 Also, we inserted OmpF-WT and encapsulated HRP in supramolecular assemblies of PMOXA 6 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 13 PDMS 44 -PMOXA 6 copolymers in order to create a non-pH responsive nanoreactor, and to compare it with the activity of that intended to be a pH trigger. Table 2, Table S1, SI).…”

“…2 The advantage of nanoreactors is their ability to simultaneously protect catalysts from their environment, whilst preserving their activity inside the confined space of the supramolecular assembly. 2,3 Of particular interest in the generation of nanoreactors are polymer vesicles, named polymersomes, because of their greater stability than their lipid-based counterparts (liposomes), 4 and the ability to modulate their properties (size, permeability, polarity, stimuli responsiveness) by changing the chemical nature of the copolymers or their functionalisation.…”

Chaperonin–Dendrimer Conjugates for siRNA Delivery

“…[[qv: 1c]] Therefore, therapeutic siRNA requires transfection agents that protect oligonucleotides and traffic them into cells. Viral‐,3 lipid‐,4 or polymer‐based5 delivery systems have been reported. However, virus‐like particles are prone to be cleared by virus‐specific antibodies6 and lipid‐based siRNA delivery systems are rapidly removed by the liver and spleen 7.…”

Artificial Organelles: Reactions inside Protein–Polymer Supramolecular Assemblies

“…In this respect, knowledge of self-assembly acquired in biological systems is exploited in artificial architectures, because it is convenient for understanding conformational changes and functionality at the nanoscale, and serves for translational applications in the domains of medicine, catalysis and environment. [2,3] In particular, amphiphilic block copolymers are ideal candidates for designing complex systems, because they self-assemble in a variety of supramolecular 3D assemblies (micelles, nanoparticles, tubes, polymersomes) and planar membranes. [4,5] In addition to nanostructures, amphiphilic copolymers can also self-assemble in giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) as simple compartment models with µm-range sizes (Fig.…”