{"title":"Oxidation-responsive phenylboronate-bridged block copolymer for targeted cancer drug delivery","authors":"Hanchen Ding , Shiqun Shao , Youqing Shen , Jiajia Xiang","doi":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2025.113784","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nanomedicine has revolutionized cancer therapy by improving targeted drug delivery while mitigating systemic side effects. An effective delivery system must maintain stability in physiological environments while enabling precise and rapid drug release in tumors. The primary challenge lies in designing nanocarriers that are responsive to tumor-specific stimuli. Here, we introduce a novel amphiphilic block copolymer, PEG-Blink-PCL, featuring a phenylboronic ester linker that selectively degrades, responding to reactive oxygen species (ROS), allowing for controlled, site-specific drug release. Our study demonstrates that DOX-loaded PEG-Blink-PCL micelles (B/DOX-M) exhibit excellent stability in the bloodstream yet quickly shed their PEG corona upon exposure to elevated ROS levels, leading to micelle disassembly and efficient DOX release in tumors. This ROS-triggered “shell-removal” strategy significantly augments tumor inhibition while minimizing systemic toxicity in the MDA-MB-231 tumor model. Overall, this study highlights the potential of ROS-responsive PEG-Blink-PCL as a promising platform for effective and precise cancer drug delivery.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":315,"journal":{"name":"European Polymer Journal","volume":"228 ","pages":"Article 113784"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"European Polymer Journal","FirstCategoryId":"92","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014305725000722","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"POLYMER SCIENCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Nanomedicine has revolutionized cancer therapy by improving targeted drug delivery while mitigating systemic side effects. An effective delivery system must maintain stability in physiological environments while enabling precise and rapid drug release in tumors. The primary challenge lies in designing nanocarriers that are responsive to tumor-specific stimuli. Here, we introduce a novel amphiphilic block copolymer, PEG-Blink-PCL, featuring a phenylboronic ester linker that selectively degrades, responding to reactive oxygen species (ROS), allowing for controlled, site-specific drug release. Our study demonstrates that DOX-loaded PEG-Blink-PCL micelles (B/DOX-M) exhibit excellent stability in the bloodstream yet quickly shed their PEG corona upon exposure to elevated ROS levels, leading to micelle disassembly and efficient DOX release in tumors. This ROS-triggered “shell-removal” strategy significantly augments tumor inhibition while minimizing systemic toxicity in the MDA-MB-231 tumor model. Overall, this study highlights the potential of ROS-responsive PEG-Blink-PCL as a promising platform for effective and precise cancer drug delivery.
期刊介绍:
European Polymer Journal is dedicated to publishing work on fundamental and applied polymer chemistry and macromolecular materials. The journal covers all aspects of polymer synthesis, including polymerization mechanisms and chemical functional transformations, with a focus on novel polymers and the relationships between molecular structure and polymer properties. In addition, we welcome submissions on bio-based or renewable polymers, stimuli-responsive systems and polymer bio-hybrids. European Polymer Journal also publishes research on the biomedical application of polymers, including drug delivery and regenerative medicine. The main scope is covered but not limited to the following core research areas:
Polymer synthesis and functionalization
• Novel synthetic routes for polymerization, functional modification, controlled/living polymerization and precision polymers.
Stimuli-responsive polymers
• Including shape memory and self-healing polymers.
Supramolecular polymers and self-assembly
• Molecular recognition and higher order polymer structures.
Renewable and sustainable polymers
• Bio-based, biodegradable and anti-microbial polymers and polymeric bio-nanocomposites.
Polymers at interfaces and surfaces
• Chemistry and engineering of surfaces with biological relevance, including patterning, antifouling polymers and polymers for membrane applications.
Biomedical applications and nanomedicine
• Polymers for regenerative medicine, drug delivery molecular release and gene therapy
The scope of European Polymer Journal no longer includes Polymer Physics.