Editorial pubs.acs.org/molecularpharmaceutics
Polymers in Drug Delivery: Chemistry and Applications
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Eleven original research articles are also included in this special issue and cover a diverse range of topics. Four contributions describe the development of new block copolymer-based micelles exhibiting stimulus-responsive enhanced or on-demand release of encapsulated therapeutics. They include Intracellular Delivery of Colloidally Stable Core-Cross-Linked Triblock Copolymer Micelles with Glutathione-Responsive Enhanced Drug Release for Cancer Therapy (Oh, Concordia); Unimolecular Micelles of Amphiphilic Cyclodextrin-Core Star-Like Copolymers with Covalent pH-Responsive Linkage of Anticancer Prodrugs (Wang, Nanyang Technical); ATN-161 Peptide Functionalized Reversibly Cross-Linked Polymersomes Mediate Targeted Doxorubicin Delivery into Melanoma-Bearing C57BL/ 6 Mice (Meng, Soochow); and Poly(ethyl glyoxylate)-Poly(ethylene oxide) Nanoparticles: Stimuli-Responsive Drug Release via End-to-End Polyglyoxylate Depolymerization (Gillies, Western Ontario). Four contributions describe the exploration of the general aspects of drug delivery on self-assembled micellar systems. They include Quantification and Qualitative Effects of Different PEGylations on Poly(butyl cyanoacrylate) Nanoparticles (Åslund, NTNU); Self-Associating Poly(ethylene oxide)-blockpoly(α-carboxyl-ε-caprolactone) Drug Conjugates for the Delivery of STAT3 Inhibitor JSI-124: Potential Application in Cancer Immunotherapy (Lavasanifar, Alberta); CurcuminLoaded Blood-Stable Polymeric Micelles for Enhancing Therapeutic Effect on Erythroleukemia (Wang, Tennessee); and Controlling Structure and Function of Polymeric Drug Delivery Nanoparticles Using Microfluidics (Moffitt, Victoria). Further to self-assembling block copolymers, three contributions described other DDS based on dendrimers and nanogels, including Telodendrimers for Physical Encapsulation and Covalent Linking of Individual or Combined Therapeutics (Kakkar, McGill); Multiresponsive Nanogels for Targeted Anticancer Drug Delivery (Serpe, Alberta); and Characterization of the Physicochemical Properties of β-Cyclodextrin−Divinyl Sulfone Polymer Carrier−Bile Acid Systems (Wilson, Saskatchewan).
ancer nanotechnology research, with an emphasis on polymer chemistry, has focused on the development of multifunctional nanoscale devices that interface with biological systems. Polymer-based drug delivery systems (DDS) have now been established as promising nanovehicles for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Examples of polymer-based DDS that have been explored significantly include polymer−drug conjugates (prodrugs), dendrimers, and sub-micrometer-sized hydrophobic particulates, as well as cross-linked microgels/nanogels, vesicles and block copolymer based nanoassemblies. Effective DDS encapsulate anticancer therapeutics and include hydrophilic coatings that ensure biocompatibility and colloidal stability. Ideally, delivery of small molecule anticancer drugs in nanosized carriers enables the selective delivery of a therapeutically relevant payload to tumor cells. The rapid growth of tumors results in new vasculature with irregularly aligned endothelial cells as well as poor lymphatic drainage; this in turn facilitates extravasation (enhanced permeation) and accumulation of nanocarriers (retention) within tumor tissues. The process called the enhanced permeation and retention effect (EPR) allows for passive targeting of polymer-based DDS to tumors, thus minimizing undesired side effects and maximizing drug efficacy common to small drugs. Once at the target site the DDS could release their cargo in the tumor interstitium or following endocytosis into cells of the solid tumor. Yet, it has been found that the delivery of small molecule drugs in DDS is complex given that their pharmacokinetics, biodistribution, intracellular trafficking, and drug release are difficult to predict. In recent years significant efforts have been made in polymerbased DDS research, and several promising self-assembled nanocarriers have reached clinical development. Despite these tremendous advances, additional fundamental and applied research is needed to achieve more precise control over the properties and performance of polymer-based DDS. The Canadian Chemistry Conference and Exhibition is the annual meeting organized by the Canadian Society for Chemistry (CSC), and in 2017 the 100th conference was held in Toronto. The 2016 annual meeting was held in the city of Halifax, the capital of the province of Nova Scotia, where a symposium offered by the Macromolecular Science and Engineering Division was entitled “Polymers in Drug Delivery: Chemistry and Applications”. This special issue is composed of a total of 15 papers that largely emanated from abstracts that were submitted to the symposium from renowned research groups in Canada and abroad. This issue includes four review articles describing recent advances in Stimulus-Responsive Degradable Polylactide-Based Block Copolymer Nanoassemblies for Controlled/Enhanced Drug Delivery (Oh, Concordia); Polymeric Nanocarriers Based on Cyclodextrins for Drug Delivery: Host−Guest Interaction as Stimuli Responsive Linker (Yuan, Tsinghua); Block Copolymer Stereoregularity and Its Impact on Polymeric Micellar Nanodrug Delivery (Lavasanifar, Alberta); and Overcoming the Road Blocks: Advancement of Block Copolymer Micelles for Cancer Therapy in the Clinic (Allen, Toronto). © 2017 American Chemical Society
Jung Kwon Oh,* Guest Editor
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Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H4B 1R6
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected]. ORCID
Jung Kwon Oh: 0000-0002-4220-308X Notes
Views expressed in this editorial are those of the author and not necessarily the views of the ACS. Special Issue: Polymers in Drug Delivery: Chemistry and Applications Published: August 7, 2017 2459
DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.7b00567 Mol. Pharmaceutics 2017, 14, 2459−2459
