title: POxylated Polyurea Dendrimers: Smart Core-Shell Vectors with IC50 Lowering Capacity.
abstract: The design and preparation of highly efficient drug delivery platforms using green methodologies is at the forefront of nanotherapeutics research. POxylated polyurea dendrimers are efficiently synthesized using a supercritical-assisted polymerization in carbon dioxide. These fluorescent, pH-responsive and water-soluble core-shell smart nanocarriers show low toxicity in terms of cell viability and absence of glutathione depletion, two of the major side effect limitations of current vectors. The materials are also found to act as good transfection agents, through a mechanism involving an endosomal pathway, being able to reduce 100-fold the IC50 of paclitaxel.
authors.affiliation: LAQV, REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Campus de Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal.
authors.forename: Rita B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Restani
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Harvard-MIT Division for Health Sciences and Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: João
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Conde
authors.affiliation: LAQV, REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Campus de Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal.
authors.forename: Rita F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Pires
authors.affiliation: UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Departamento de Ciências da Vida, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Campus de Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal.
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.affiliation: UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Departamento de Ciências da Vida, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Campus de Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal.
authors.forename: Alexandra R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.affiliation: UCIBIO, REQUIMTE, Departamento de Ciências da Vida, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Campus de Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal.
authors.forename: Pedro V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Baptista
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Telecomunicações, Instituto Superior Técnico, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal. vasco.bonifacio@tecnico.ulisboa.pt.
authors.forename: Vasco D B
authors.initials: VD
authors.lastname: Bonifácio
authors.affiliation: LAQV, REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Campus de Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal. air@fct.unl.pt.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aguiar-Ricardo
mesh_terms: D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D050091:Dendrimers / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D011992:Endosomes / Q000187:drug effects; D005978:Glutathione / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D020128:Inhibitory Concentration 50; D050997:Nanomedicine; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D017239:Paclitaxel / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D011108:Polymers / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D050091:Dendrimers; D011108:Polymers; D014867:Water; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; C045786:polyurea; D005978:Glutathione; D017239:Paclitaxel
keywords: POxylation; oligo-oxazolines; paclitaxel; polyurea dendrimers; supercritical carbon dioxide