Temperature-Sensitive Polymersomes for Controlled Delivery of Anticancer Drugs

• DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.5b03048
• Publication Date: 2015-11-10T21:28:55Z
• Authors: Fei Liu; Veronika Kozlovskaya; Srikanth Medipelli; Bing Xue; Fahim Ahmad; Mohammad Saeed; Donald Cropek; Eugenia Kharlampieva
• Keywords: 02 engineering and technology; 0210 nano-technology

We report on a novel type of triblock copolymer polymersomes with temperature-controlled permeability within the physiologically relevant temperature range of 37–42 °C for sustained delivery of anticancer drugs. These polymersomes combine characteristics of liposomes, such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, monodispersity, and stability at room temperature, with tunable size and thermal responsiveness provided by amphiphilic triblock copolymers. The temperature-sensitive poly(N-vinylcaprolactam)n-poly(dimethylsiloxane)65-poly(N-vinylcaprolactam)n (PVCLn-PDMS65-PVCLn) copolymers with n = 10, 15, 19, 29, and 50 and polydispersity indexes less than 1.17 are synthesized by controlled RAFT polymerization. The copolymers are assembled into stable vesicles at room temperature when the ratio of PVCL to the total polymer mass is 0.36 < f < 0.52 with the polymersome diameter decreasing from 530 to 40 nm as the length of PVCL is increased from 10 to 19 monomer units. Importantly, the permeability of polymersomes...