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Updated: Aug 9, 2026

Preparation and Characterization of Individual and Multi-drug Loaded Physically Entrapped Polymeric Micelles
Published on: August 28, 2015
Synthesis of Polyethylene Glycol-Poly(glycerol carbonate) Block Copolymeric Micelles as Surfactant-Free Drug Delivery
Danielle M Fitzgerald1, Heng Zhang1, Catalina Bordeianu1
1Departments of Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, United States.
Abstract:
We report the synthesis of block copolymers of monomethoxylated polyethylene glycol and poly(glycerol carbonate) (mPEG-b-PGC) via the ring-opening polymerization of benzyl glycidyl ether, monomethoxylated polyethylene glycol, and carbon dioxide using a cobalt salen catalyst. The resulting block copolymers display high polymer/cyclic carbonate selectivity (>99%) and, if two oxirane monomers are used, random incorporation into the polymer feed. The resulting diblock mPEG-b-PGC polymer shows promise as a nanocarrier for surfactant-free, sustained chemotherapeutic delivery. mPEG-b-PGC, with paclitaxel conjugated to the pendant primary alcohol of the glycerol polymer backbone, readily forms 175 nm diameter particles in solution and contains 4.6 wt % paclitaxel (PTX), which is released over 42 days. The mPEG-b-PGC polymer itself is noncytotoxic, whereas the PTX-loaded nanoparticles are cytotoxic to lung, breast, and ovarian cancer cell lines.
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