Recent Advances in Biomedical Applications of Cholic Acid-Based Macromolecules

Abstract

In recent decades, polymeric materials have been extensively investigated for their widespread therapeutic applications in various biomedical fields. In particular, biomolecule conjugated polymers continue to draw attention due to their distinctive physicochemical and biological properties. By appending biomolecules on polymeric constructs, these synthetic macromolecules can be strategized as multimotive theranostic agents. In this Review, we intend to spotlight the biomedical applications of polymeric materials containing cholic acid (CA) as the biomolecular counterpart. CA is the most abundantly produced bile acid during cholesterol metabolism in the human body and is also the least expensive one. The fascinating properties such as inimitable facial amphiphilicity, convenient bioavailability, trivial cytotoxicity, and excellent biocompatibility make CA unique to design numerous cholic acid-based polymers (CAPs) in the diverse areas of biomedical research. The primary focus of this Review is to highlight the recent achievements (2011−present) on the obligatory role of the CA moiety in CAPs in these biomedical applications. Especially the therapeutic applications which include drug delivery, gene transfection, antimicrobial activity, bioimaging and diagnosis, wound healing, and other miscellaneous bioapplications are highlighted in this Review.

Modulating Insulin Aggregation with Charge Variable Cholic Acid-Derived Polymers

“…Bile acids are amphiphilic molecules, synthesized from cholesterol, and play a pivotal role in regulating the levels of cholesterol in the human body. Among the range of bile acids, we have chosen cholic acid (CA) as a model compound as it has shown immense impact in the biomedical field because of its typical amphiphilic structure, chiral nature, high biocompatibility, therapeutic implication, and specifically its capability to readily undergo self-assembly in various solvents. , U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved CA for the treatment of bile acid synthesis disorders as well as various other metabolic disorders . Most recently, Majid et al have explored the therapeutic potential of CA in the protein aggregation field.…”

Recent Progress in Macromolecular Design and Synthesis of Bile Acid‐Based Polymeric Architectures

“…Among all BAs, cholic acid (CA) has gained remarkable attention over the past few years in designing different types of polymers. [41,42] The excellent biocompatibility, numerous conjugative locus [43] and amphiphilic facial feature [44] makes CA a superb choice for macromolecular add-on. Moreover, they can form stable polymeric architectures with further scope of functional group modifications.…”

Cholate-conjugated cationic polymers for regulation of actin dynamics

“…26 Besides, the unique facial amphiphilic behaviour of CA derivatives makes them beneficial for plentiful biological applications. 27,28 To date, synthetic polymer-induced actin nucleation is less explored in the literature. Furthermore, biopolymers like dextran and gelatines are largely reported in the literature where they have been post-functionalized with smaller actin-active molecules.…”

“…26 Besides, the unique facial amphiphilic behaviour of CA derivatives makes them beneficial for plentiful biological applications. 27,28…”