A smart micellar system with an amine-containing polycarbonate shell

The present paper reports the design and preparation of an amphiphilic triblock co-polymer poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL)-poly(6,14-dimethyl-1,3,9,11-tetraoxa-6,14-diaza-cyclohexadecane-2,10-dione) (PADMC)-PCL and the use of micelles composed of them as carriers for pH-sensitive drug release. The triblock co-polymers were synthesized via two-step ring-opening polymerization with catalysis by Novozym-435 lipase. By adjusting the feed ratio, three co-polymers with different PCL lengths and the same PADMC length were produced. The block structure of the co-polymers obtained was confirmed by comparative studies on PCL-PADMC-PCLs and the corresponding random poly(epsilon-caprolactone-random-6,14-dimethyl-1,3,9,11-tetraoxa-6,14-diaza-cyclohexadecane-2,10-dione) (poly(CL-r-ADMC)) by means of nuclear magnetic resonance and differential scanning calorimetry. Cell cytotoxicity tests showed that the co-polymer displayed no apparent cytotoxicity to 293T and Hela cells. Transmissions electron microscopy indicates that the self-assembled micelles exhibited a well-defined spherical shape with a diameter between similar to 30 and 50 nm. The critical aggregation concentration was dependent on the block composition. Due to the presence of ionizable tertiary amine groups in the PADMC block, acid-induced variation in the micellar morphology was evident with respect to micelle size and size distribution. The size-pH curve was characterized by a smooth sigmoid form, and had a dramatic upward shift with decreasing pH from 6.5 to 4.5, which correlated well with the buffer range of hydrophilic PADMC. As a demonstration of the potential of PCL-PADMC-PCL micelles to control drug delivery, acid induced drug release for prednisone acetate-loaded micelles was explored. PCL-PADMC-PCL micelles show good promise as smart drug carriers, sensing the local specific pH decrease around lesion sites. (C) 2011 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.