Precise Engineering of Multifunctional PEGylated Polyester Nanoparticles for Cancer Cell Targeting and Imaging

Abstract

Multifunctional poly­(ethylene glycol)-block-poly­(lactic acid) (PEG-b-PLA) nanoparticles for cancer cell targeting and imaging have been designed by a combination of ring-opening polymerization and “click” chemistry. Nanoparticles containing both a targeting ligand and a fluorescent probe were prepared by blending PLA-b-PEG–ligand, PLA-b-PEG–fluorescent probe, and PLA-b-PEG–OMe copolymers at the molar ratios necessary to achieve the desired surface ligand and fluorescent probe densities. This strategy has been illustrated by the preparation of a large library of a variety of nanoparticles, such as ligand-decorated nanoparticles (with biotin, folic acid or anisamide), fluorescent nanoparticles (UV–vis or near-infrared dyes), and multifunctional nanoparticles decorated with a targeting ligand and a fluorescent probe. Successful targeting was demonstrated by surface plasmon resonance and in vitro experiments on different cancer cell lines.

Surface zwitterionization of hemocompatible poly(lactic acid) membranes for hemodiafiltration

“…PLA is one of the eco-friendly bioplastics with excellent biodegradability, processibility, less energy dependence and lower cost, which has been widely utilized in biomedical fields such as sutures, resorbable plates and screws, and drug delivery device [12][13][14][15][16]. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also approved PLA for direct contact with biological fluids.…”

Soft fluorescent nanomaterials for biological and biomedical imaging

“…Using similar phospholipid-encapsulation strategy, other semiconducting polymers 76, 77 and dye-conjugated biocompatible polymers 78, 79 have been developed as fluorescent nano-sized imaging agents. So far, the biocompatible polymers are mainly derived from PLGA or DSPE-PEG, with functionalized terminals such as amino and carboxyl groups 76, 78 and folate.…”

“…So far, the biocompatible polymers are mainly derived from PLGA or DSPE-PEG, with functionalized terminals such as amino and carboxyl groups 76, 78 and folate. 77, 79 DSPE-PEG usually yields NPs with smaller diameters (<100 nm) than NPs made from PLGA because DSPE-PEG has a higher amphiphilicity and a lower molecular weight. For more detailed information about polymer-encapsulated fluorescent organic NPs, please refer to a recent review by Liu and co-workers.…”

“…139 Folic acid also is widely adopted for this purpose because it selectively binds to folate receptors that are over-expressed in tumor cells. Self-fluorescent abietane NPs, 70 dye-doped PLA NPs 79 and small-molecule NPs 97, 112 were all conjugated to folic acid and used to specifically label live cells.…”

“…85 for B (Copyright 2010, Wiley-VCH) and from ref. 79 for C (Copyright 2012, American Chemical Society), respectively.…”