Synthesis of 6-O-poly(ϵ-caprolactone)-L-ascorbic acid and its controlled release from supramolecular polymer micelles

Lipophilic 6-O-poly (ϵ-caprolactone)-L-ascorbic acid (AA-6-PCL) is synthesized through ROP of ϵ-caprolactone (CL). The number of repeating CL units in the polymer chain varies from 6 to 19. AA-6-PCL loaded supramolecular polymer micelles (SMPMs) are constructed with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and PCL as blocks. Transmission electron microscopy images show a nanospheric morphology of the micelles with a size range of 43.3 ± 5.0 nm. The drug loading contents are 22.53-39.23% for AA-6-PCL. AA-6-PCL exhibits high radical scavenging capacity (93.96-96.73%) and efficient scavenging potency, and a cytotoxicity study proves the excellent cytocompatibility of AA-6-PCL loaded β-CD/PCL SMPMs, which altogether herald their potential application in the study of the induced pluripotent stem cells.