title: pH- and thermo-responsive microcontainers as potential drug delivery systems: Morphological characteristic, release and cytotoxicity studies.
abstract: Polymeric pH- and thermo-sensitive microcontainers (MCs) were developed as a potential drug delivery system for cancer therapy. It is well known that cancer cells exhibit notable characteristics such as acidic pH due to glycolytic cycle and higher temperature due to their higher proliferation rate. Based on these characteristics, we constructed a dual pH- and thermo-sensitive material for specific drug release on the pathological tissue. The MC's fabrication is based on a two-step procedure, in which, the first step involves the core synthesis and the second one is related to the shell formation. The core consists of poly(methyl methacrylate (PMMA), while the shell consists of PMMA, poly(isopropylacrylamide), poly(acrylic acid) and poly(divinylbenzene). Three different types of MCs were synthesized based on the seed polymerization method. The synthesized MCs were characterized structurally by Fourier transform infrared and morphologically by scanning electron microscopy. Dynamic light scattering was also used to study their behavior in aqueous solution under different pH and temperature conditions. For the loading and release study, the anthracycline drug daunorubicin (DNR) was used as a model drug, and its release properties were evaluated under different pH and thermo-conditions. Cytotoxicity studies were also carried out against MCF-7 breast cancer and 3T3 mouse embryonic fibroblast cells. According to our results, the synthesized microcontainers present desired pH and thermo behavior and can be applied in drug delivery systems. It is worth mentioning that the synthesized microcontainers which incorporated the drug DNR exhibit higher toxicity than the free drug.
authors.affiliation: Sol-Gel Laboratory, Institute for Advanced Materials, Physicochemical Processes, Nanotechnology and Microsystems, NCSR "Demokritos", 15 341 Aghia Paraskevi Attikis, Greece. Electronic address: elefth@chem.demokritos.gr.
authors.forename: Eleni K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Efthimiadou
authors.affiliation: Sol-Gel Laboratory, Institute for Advanced Materials, Physicochemical Processes, Nanotechnology and Microsystems, NCSR "Demokritos", 15 341 Aghia Paraskevi Attikis, Greece; Materials Science Department, School of Natural Sciences, University of Patras, 26 500 Patras, Greece.
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tapeinos
authors.affiliation: Sol-Gel Laboratory, Institute for Advanced Materials, Physicochemical Processes, Nanotechnology and Microsystems, NCSR "Demokritos", 15 341 Aghia Paraskevi Attikis, Greece.
authors.forename: Leto-Aikaterini
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Tziveleka
authors.affiliation: Sol-Gel Laboratory, Institute for Advanced Materials, Physicochemical Processes, Nanotechnology and Microsystems, NCSR "Demokritos", 15 341 Aghia Paraskevi Attikis, Greece.
authors.forename: Nikos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Boukos
authors.affiliation: Sol-Gel Laboratory, Institute for Advanced Materials, Physicochemical Processes, Nanotechnology and Microsystems, NCSR "Demokritos", 15 341 Aghia Paraskevi Attikis, Greece. Electronic address: gkordas@ims.demokritos.gr.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kordas
mesh_terms: D016475:3T3 Cells; D000180:Acrylic Resins / Q000737:chemistry; D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D003630:Daunorubicin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D061986:MCF-7 Cells; D051379:Mice; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D010316:Particle Size; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate / Q000737:chemistry; D013343:Styrenes / Q000737:chemistry; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D000180:Acrylic Resins; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D004337:Drug Carriers; D011108:Polymers; D013343:Styrenes; C006903:carbopol 940; C056745:poly(divinylbenzene); D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate; D003630:Daunorubicin
keywords: Drug delivery systems; Dual responsive; Hollow microcontainers; Thermo-sensitivity; pH sensitivity