Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 24, 2025

A Facile and Efficient Approach for the Production of Reversible Disulfide Cross-linked Micelles
Published on: December 23, 2016
A dextran-platinum(iv) conjugate as a reduction-responsive carrier for triggered drug release
Shasha He1, Yuwei Cong, Dongfang Zhou
1State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130022, PR China. east@ciac.ac.cn.
Abstract:
Reduction-responsive nano-carriers have been confirmed to be promising for intracellular drug delivery. To develop multifunctional polymer-based drug delivery system, a novel dextran-Pt(iv) conjugate was synthesized by conjugating Pt(iv) to the side chains of the hydrophilic dextran and used for doxorubicin (DOX) delivery. Pt(iv) conjugation could change the hydrophilicity of dextran, leading to the self-assembly of dextran-Pt(iv) conjugates with different morphologies. Pt(iv) segments served as the key components in assembly formation and as the antitumor prodrug. Under a reductive environment, Pt(iv) was found to be reduced to its active Pt(ii) form and cleaved from dextran, shifting the hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance of the dextran-Pt(iv) conjugate. The collapse of the assembly structure due to the partial or complete recovery of the hydrophilicity of dextran led to triggered release of DOX. The DOX-loaded dextran-Pt(iv) conjugate obtained by combining the released hydrophobic DOX and recovered hydrophilic Pt(ii), was found to be very effective as an antitumor agent as demonstrated in in vitro cytotoxicity evaluations. This DOX-loaded dextran-Pt(iv) conjugate system provided a new strategy to trigger the release of hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs at the same time via single reduction-responsive control to provide an enhanced anti-tumor effect.
Related Concept Videos
Drug Metabolism: Phase II Reactions
Phase II Conjugation Reactions: Overview
Carrier-Mediated Transport
Active transport involves two types of membrane-spanning transporters: uptake and efflux. Uptake transporters are expressed in the small...
Drug Absorption Mechanism: Carrier-Mediated Membrane Transport
Facilitated diffusion is a passive process that utilizes human Solute Carrier (SLC) transporters. These transporters bind to the drug, undergo structural...

