A macromolecular prodrug strategy for combinatorial drug delivery

• A macromolecular prodrug strategy was developed for dual drug delivery.
• Dexamethasone prodrug with modified heparin self-assembled into nanomicelles.
• Doxorubicin was encapsulated into the hydrophobic cores of prodrug micelles.
• Co-loaded two drugs exhibited acid-sensitive release characteristics.

A novel macromolecular prodrug strategy was developed for the combinatorial delivery of two poorly water-soluble drugs, dexamethasone and doxorubicin. In this work, dexamethasone was firstly conjugated onto a water-soluble modified polysaccharide by an acid-labile hydrazone linkage. The resultant macromolecular prodrug had an amphiphilic character and could self-assemble into spherical polymeric micelles in aqueous system. With these micelles, doxorubicin was then encapsulated into their hydrophobic cores. For the conjugated dexamethasone and encapsulated doxorubicin, they could exhibit independent and acid-sensitive release characteristics. For the doxorubicin-loaded prodrug micelles, they were easily be internalized by living cells and showed obvious antitumor activity.

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