Fabrication of Polymeric Micelles with Aggregation-Induced Emission and Forster Resonance Energy Transfer for Anticancer Drug Delivery

Bioconjug Chem. 2017 Jul 19;28(7):1944-1954. doi: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.7b00274. Epub 2017 Jun 15.

Abstract

With the aim of obtaining effective cancer therapy with simultaneous cellular imaging, dynamic drug-release monitoring, and chemotherapeutic treatment, a polymeric micelle with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) imaging and a Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) effect was fabricated as the drug carrier. An amphiphilic conjugate of 1H-pyrrole-1-propanoicacid (MAL)-poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-Tripp-bearing AIE molecules were synthesized and self-assembled into micelles to load the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). Spherical DOX-loaded micelles with the mean size of 106 nm were obtained with good physiological stability (CMC, 12.5 μg/mL), high drug-loading capacity (10.4%), and encapsulation efficiency (86%). The cellular uptake behavior of DOX-loaded MAL-PEG-Tripp micelles was visible for high-quality intracellular imaging due to the AIE property. The delivery of DOX from the drug-loaded micelles was dynamic monitored by the FRET effect between the DOX and MAL-PEG-Tripp. Both in vitro (IC50, 2.36 μg/mL) and in vivo anticancer activity tests revealed that the DOX-loaded MAL-PEG-Tripp micelles exhibited promising therapeutic efficacy to cancer with low systematic toxicity. In summary, this micelle provided an effective way to fabricate novel nanoplatform for intracellular imaging, drug-delivery tracing, and chemotherapy.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antineoplastic Agents / administration & dosage*
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacokinetics
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Doxorubicin / administration & dosage
  • Doxorubicin / pharmacokinetics
  • Drug Delivery Systems / methods*
  • Drug Liberation
  • Drug Monitoring
  • Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer*
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Micelles*
  • Polyethylene Glycols
  • Polymers
  • Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Micelles
  • Polymers
  • Polyethylene Glycols
  • Doxorubicin