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Furoxan-Bearing Micelles for Nitric Oxide Delivery
Urara Hasegawa1, Tengjiao Wang2, Jerry J Y Chen2
1Frontier Research Base for Young Researchers and Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan.
Macromolecular Bioscience
|March 9, 2016
Summary
New nitric oxide (NO)-donating polymeric micelles were developed. These furoxan-based micelles release NO and exhibit synergistic anti-cancer effects with ibuprofen in colon cancer cells.
Area of Science:
- Polymer Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Furoxans are nitric oxide (NO)-donating compounds that release NO upon interaction with thiols.
- Nitric oxide plays crucial roles in various physiological and pathological processes.
- Developing novel drug delivery systems for enhanced therapeutic outcomes is an active area of research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize and characterize polymeric micelles functionalized with furoxan moieties for NO delivery.
- To investigate the NO release profile and stability of the furoxan-bearing micelles.
- To evaluate the synergistic anti-proliferative effects of these micelles in combination with ibuprofen on human colon cancer cells.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of an amphiphilic block copolymer using reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization and copper-catalyzed Huisgen cycloaddition.
- Self-assembly of the block copolymer into spherical polymeric micelles in aqueous solution.
- Characterization of micelle size and morphology.
- In vitro evaluation of NO release in response to cysteine.
- Assessment of hydrolytic stability.
- In vitro anti-proliferative assays on human colon cancer cells in combination with ibuprofen.
Main Results:
- Polymeric micelles with a diameter of approximately 50 nm were successfully prepared.
- The furoxan-bearing micelles demonstrated controlled NO release in the presence of cysteine.
- The micelles exhibited enhanced stability against hydrolytic decomposition compared to simpler furoxan derivatives.
- A synergistic anti-proliferative effect was observed when the micelles were combined with ibuprofen in human colon cancer cells.
Conclusions:
- Novel furoxan-functionalized polymeric micelles can be effectively synthesized for NO delivery.
- These micelles offer improved stability and controlled NO release.
- The combination of furoxan micelles and ibuprofen shows promise for synergistic cancer therapy in colon cancer models.
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