Abstract
Drug delivery systems (DDSs) can significantly improve the biodistribution and pharmacokinetics of various drugs. Herein, we describe diblock polymers of poly(2-methyloxazoline) and N-(2,2 '-difluoroethyl)acrylamide with N-[2-(ferrocenylcarboxamido)ethyl]acrylamide that can be used as advanced DDSs.
These thermoresponsive diblock copolymers self-assemble when heated to body temperature but disassemble when exposed to oxidative conditions (reactive oxygen species, ROS), releasing their cargo. Moreover, our polymers are not prone to spontaneous oxidation by air or hydrogen peroxide under physiological conditions but are highly sensitive to ROS under acidic conditions.
Advantageously, the biodistribution of our DDS can be monitored with fluorine-19 magnetic resonance imaging (19F MRI). Therefore, our polymers could be used in both local and systemic drug delivery systems in ROS-rich environments, such as tumors or inflamed tissues.
Additionally, the properties of our polymers could be widely modified to meet the demands of various clinical applications. Overall, we demonstrate that our copolymers (i) release their cargo preferentially in an ROS-rich environment, (ii) are biocompatible, and (iii) can be easily visualized in vivo.