1. Ligand-Functionalized Poly(ethylene glycol) Particles for Tumor Targeting and Intracellular Uptake
- Author
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Karen Alt, Mattias Björnmalm, Ting Yi Wang, Jiwei Cui, Yi Ju, Frank Caruso, Julia A. Braunger, Christoph E. Hagemeyer, Junling Guo, Sylvia T. Gunawan, Joseph J. Richardson, Yunlu Dai, and Qiong Dai
- Subjects
Cytoplasm ,Polymers and Plastics ,Surface Properties ,Nanoparticle ,Bioengineering ,macromolecular substances ,02 engineering and technology ,Ligands ,010402 general chemistry ,Endocytosis ,01 natural sciences ,Polyethylene Glycols ,Biomaterials ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Drug Delivery Systems ,Cell Line, Tumor ,Neoplasms ,PEG ratio ,Materials Chemistry ,Animals ,Humans ,Chemistry ,technology, industry, and agriculture ,Mesoporous silica ,Silicon Dioxide ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,0104 chemical sciences ,Cancer cell ,Biophysics ,Particle size ,0210 nano-technology ,Drug carrier ,Oligopeptides ,Ethylene glycol ,Signal Transduction - Abstract
Drug carriers typically require both stealth and targeting properties to minimize nonspecific interactions with healthy cells and increase specific interaction with diseased cells. Herein, the assembly of targeted poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) particles functionalized with cyclic peptides containing Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) (ligand) using a mesoporous silica templating method is reported. The influence of PEG molecular weight, ligand-to-PEG molecule ratio, and particle size on cancer cell targeting to balance stealth and targeting of the engineered PEG particles is investigated. RGD-functionalized PEG particles (PEG-RGD particles) efficiently target U-87 MG cancer cells under static and flow conditions in vitro, whereas PEG and cyclic peptides containing Arg-Asp-Gly (RDG)-functionalized PEG (PEG-RDG) particles display negligible interaction with the same cells. Increasing the ligand-to-PEG molecule ratio improves cell targeting. In addition, the targeted PEG-RGD particles improve cell uptake via receptor-mediated endocytosis, which is desirable for intracellular drug delivery. The PEG-RGD particles show improved tumor targeting (14% ID g-1) when compared with the PEG (3% ID g-1) and PEG-RDG (7% ID g-1) particles in vivo, although the PEG-RGD particles show comparatively higher spleen and liver accumulation. The targeted PEG particles represent a platform for developing particles aimed at balancing nonspecific and specific interactions in biological systems.
- Published
- 2019