title: Polyprodrug amphiphiles: hierarchical assemblies for shape-regulated cellular internalization, trafficking, and drug delivery.
abstract: Solution self-assembly of block copolymers (BCPs) typically generates spheres, rods, and vesicles. The reproducible bottom-up fabrication of stable planar nanostructures remains elusive due to their tendency to bend into closed bilayers. This morphological vacancy renders the study of shape effects on BCP nanocarrier-cell interactions incomplete. Furthermore, the fabrication of single BCP assemblies with built-in drug delivery functions and geometry-optimized performance remains a major challenge. We demonstrate that PEG-b-PCPTM polyprodrug amphiphiles, where PEG is poly(ethylene glycol) and PCPTM is polymerized block of reduction-cleavable camptothecin (CPT) prodrug monomer, with >50 wt % CPT loading content can self-assemble into four types of uniform nanostructures including spheres, large compound vesicles, smooth disks, and unprecedented staggered lamellae with spiked periphery. Staggered lamellae outperform the other three nanostructure types, exhibiting extended blood circulation duration, the fastest cellular uptake, and unique internalization pathways. We also explore shape-modulated CPT release kinetics, nanostructure degradation, and in vitro cytotoxicities. The controlled hierarchical organization of polyprodrug amphiphiles and shape-tunable biological performance opens up new horizons for exploring next-generation BCP-based drug delivery systems with improved efficacy.
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Soft Matter Chemistry, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China , Hefei, Anhui 230026, China.
authors.forename: Xianglong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Jinming
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Zhishen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.forename: Guoying
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Kaifu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Shiyong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002166:Camptothecin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; D056945:Hep G2 Cells; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D015394:Molecular Structure; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry; D010316:Particle Size; D011108:Polymers / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011355:Prodrugs / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D011108:Polymers; D011355:Prodrugs; D002166:Camptothecin