ROS-Responsive and Self-Tumor Curing Methionine Polymer Library Based Nanoparticles with Self-Accelerated Drug...

Area of Science:

• Polymer Chemistry
• Nanotechnology
• Oncology

Background:

• Amino acid-based polymers have limited applications due to structural and functional constraints.
• Developing advanced materials for targeted cancer therapy remains a critical challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To engineer methionine-based polymers (Met-P) with programmed structures and reactive oxygen species (ROS)-responsive properties for tumor therapy.
• To create a novel drug delivery platform with self-anticancer capabilities.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of a library of methionine-based polymers (Met-P).
• Self-assembly of Met-P into sub-100 nm nanoparticles (NPs) via nanoprecipitation.
• Loading of anticancer drugs (paclitaxel, PTX) into NPs.
• In vitro and in vivo evaluation of NP stability, drug loading, drug release, and anticancer efficacy.

Main Results:

• Met-P successfully self-assembled into stable NPs with high drug loading capacity.
• ROS-triggered oxidation of Met-P induced a hydrophobic-to-hydrophilic switch, leading to rapid and self-accelerated drug release.
• The P@2Met10 NPs demonstrated significant in vivo anticancer performance and reduced PTX side effects.
• Blank 2Met10 NPs exhibited notable self-tumor inhibiting efficacy, as did other Met-P NPs.

Conclusions:

• The developed ROS-responsive Met-P library offers a versatile platform for cancer therapy.
• This platform enables hydrophobic/hydrophilic switching, controlled drug release, and dual drug delivery/self-anticancer functions.
• Met-P NPs represent a promising strategy for advanced tumor treatment with reduced toxicity.