Cytotoxicity and chemosensitizing activity of amphiphilic poly(glycerol)-poly(alkylene oxide) block copolymers

All polymeric chemosensitizers proposed thus far have a linear poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrophilic block. To testify whether precisely this chemical structure and architecture of the hydrophilic block is a prerequisite for chemosensitization, we tested a series of novel block copolymers containing a hyperbranched polyglycerol segment as a hydrophilic block (PPO-NG copolymers) on multi-drug-resistant (MDR) tumor cells in culture. PPO-NG copolymers inhibited MDR of three cell lines, indicating that the linear PEG can be substituted for a hyperbranched polyglycerol block without loss of the polymers' chemosensitizing activity. The extent of MDR reversal increased with the polymers affinity toward the cells and the expression level of P-glycoprotein. In contrast with Pluronic L61, which increases viability of tumor cells in the absence of drugs, PPO-NG chemosensitizers are completely devoid of this property undesired in cancer therapy, making them promising candidates for application as novel MDR reversal agents.