Polymeric micellar pH-sensitive drug delivery system for doxorubicin

A novel polymeric micellar pH-sensitive system for delivery of doxorubicin (DOX) is described. Polymeric micelles were prepared by self-assembly of amphiphilic diblock copolymers in aqueous solutions. The copolymers consist of a biocompatible hydrophilic poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) block and a hydrophobic block containing covalently bound anthracycline antibiotic DOX. The starting block copolymers poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(allyl glycidyl ether) (PEO-PAGE) with a very narrow molecular weight distribution (Mw/Mn ca. 1.05) were prepared by anionic ring opening polymerization using sodium salt of poly(ethylene oxide) monomethyl ether as macroinitiator and allyl glycidyl ether as functional monomer. The copolymers were covalently modified via reactive double bonds by the addition of methyl sulfanylacetate. The resulting ester subsequently reacted with hydrazine hydrate yielding polymer hydrazide. The hydrazide was coupled with DOX yielding pH-sensitive hydrazone bonds between the drug and carrier. The resulting conjugate containing ca. 3 wt.% DOX forms micelles with Rha=104 nm in phosphate-buffered saline. After incubation in buffers at 37 °C DOX was released faster at pH 5.0 (close to pH in endosomes; 43% DOX released within 24 h) than at pH 7.4 (pH of blood plasma; 16% DOX released within 24 h). Cleavage of hydrazone bonds between DOX and carrier continues even after plateau in the DOX release from micelles incubated in aqueous solutions is reached.