Maleimide functionalized polycaprolactone micelles for glutathione quenching and doxorubicin delivery
Godwin K. Babanyinah, Abhi Bhadran, Himanshu Polara, Hanghang Wang, Tejas Shah, Michael C. Biewer, Mihaela C. Stefan
Abstract
). Furthermore, we loaded these micelles with the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX), which exhibited pH-dependent drug release. We obtained a loading capacity (LC) of 3.5% for the micelles, one of the highest LC reported among functional PCL-based micelles. Moreover, the enhanced LC doesn't affect their release profile. Cytotoxicity experiments demonstrated that empty and DOX-loaded micelles inhibited cancer cell growth, with the DOX-loaded micelles displaying the highest cytotoxicity. The ability of the polymer to quench intracellular GSH was also confirmed. This approach of attaching maleimide to polycaprolactone polymers shows promise in depleting elevated glutathione levels in cancer cells, potentially improving cancer treatment efficacy.