Structural Engineering of l-Aspartic Amphiphilic Polyesters for Enzyme-Responsive Drug Delivery and Bioimaging in...

Area of Science:

• Polymer Chemistry
• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science

Background:

• Growing demand for biodegradable polymers in biomedical applications.
• Importance of amphiphilic polyesters for drug delivery systems.
• Need for enzyme-responsive materials for targeted cancer therapy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and develop enzyme-responsive amphiphilic polyesters from L-amino acid bioresources.
• To investigate the effect of hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions on nanoparticle self-assembly.
• To evaluate the drug delivery capabilities of these polyesters in cancer cell lines.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of L-aspartic acid-based polyester monomers with acetal and stearate side chains.
• Solvent-free melt polycondensation and postpolymerization deprotection to yield functionalized polyesters.
• Tuning amphiphilicity by varying stearate and hydroxyl unit composition for aqueous self-assembly into nanoparticles.

Main Results:

• Successfully synthesized side-chain-functionalized, amphiphilic polyesters.
• Achieved controlled aqueous self-assembly of polymer nanoparticles.
• Demonstrated successful encapsulation of various anticancer drugs (CPT, CUR, DOX) and biomarkers.
• Confirmed biocompatibility and efficient intracellular delivery of drugs in cancer cells.

Conclusions:

• Engineered enzyme-responsive amphiphilic polyesters offer a promising platform for biodegradable drug delivery.
• The developed nanoparticles exhibit excellent biocompatibility and targeted intracellular drug delivery capabilities.
• Structural modifications allow fine-tuning of amphiphilicity and self-assembly for biomedical applications.