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Published on: September 17, 2013
Biodegradable Polymersomes with Structure Inherent Fluorescence and Targeting Capacity for Enhanced Photo-Dynamic
Shoupeng Cao1, Yifeng Xia2, Jingxin Shao1
1Bio-Organic Chemistry, Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513 (STO 3.41), 5600, MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Biodegradable nanostructures displaying aggregation-induced emission (AIE) are desirable from a biomedical point of view, due to the advantageous features of loading capacity, emission brightness, and fluorescence stability. Herein, biodegradable polymers comprising poly (ethylene glycol)-block-poly(caprolactone-gradient-trimethylene carbonate) (PEG-P(CLgTMC)), with tetraphenylethylene pyridinium-TMC (PAIE) side chains have been developed, which self-assembled into well-defined polymersomes. The resultant AIEgenic polymersomes are intrinsically fluorescent delivery vehicles. The presence of the pyridinium moiety endows the polymersomes with mitochondrial targeting ability, which improves the efficiency of co-encapsulated photosensitizers and improves therapeutic index against cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo. This contribution showcases the ability to engineer AIEgenic polymersomes with structure inherent fluorescence and targeting capacity for enhanced photodynamic therapy.
