Cited by 142Nanoparticle-Based Drug DeliveryAdvanced Polymer Synthesis and CharacterizationSurfactants and Colloidal Systems

Drug-induced morphology switch in drug delivery systems based on poly(2-oxazoline)s

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Schulz, Anita, Jaksch, Sebastian, Schubel, Rene, Wegener, Erik, Di, Zhenyu, Han, Yingchao, Meister, Annette, Kressler, Jörg +4 more·2014·ACS Nano

Abstract

Defined aggregates of polymers such as polymeric micelles are of great importance in the development of pharmaceutical formulations. The amount of drug that can be formulated by a drug delivery system is an important issue, and most drug delivery systems suffer from their relatively low drug-loading capacity. However, as the loading capacities increase, i.e., promoted by good drug–polymer interactions, the drug may affect the morphology and stability of the micellar system. We investigated this effect in a prominent system with very high capacity for hydrophobic drugs and found extraordinary stability as well as a profound morphology change upon incorporation of paclitaxel into micelles of amphiphilic ABA poly(2-oxazoline) triblock copolymers. The hydrophilic blocks A comprised poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline), while the middle blocks B were either just barely hydrophobic poly(2-n-butyl-2-oxazoline) or highly hydrophobic poly(2-n-nonyl-2-oxazoline). The aggregation behavior of both polymers and their formulations with varying paclitaxel contents were investigated by means of dynamic light scattering, atomic force microscopy, (cryogenic) transmission electron microscopy, and small-angle neutron scattering. While without drug, wormlike micelles were present, after incorporation of small amounts of drugs only spherical morphologies remained. Furthermore, the much more hydrophobic poly(2-n-nonyl-2-oxazoline)-containing triblock copolymer exhibited only half the capacity for paclitaxel than the poly(2-n-butyl-2-oxazoline)-containing copolymer along with a lower stability. In the latter, contents of paclitaxel of 8 wt % or higher resulted in a raspberry-like micellar core.

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Crossref · 10.1021/nn406388t

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  • In the absence of drug, PMeOx-b-PBuOx-b-PMeOx formed worm-like micelles with an effective hydrodynamic diameter of about 200 nm.

    “In the absence of the drug, this particular block copolymer formed worm-like micelles as shown in atomic force microscopy and cryo-TEM with an effective hydrodynamic diameter of about 200 nm.”

    From Polymeric micelles for the delivery of poorly soluble drugs: From nanoformulation to clinical approval. (2020) · cites this paper as [115]

    The Results section on AFM and (cryo-)TEM reports that drug-free P2 contained both wormlike and spherical micelles, with the wormlike structures visible by cryo-TEM. It also says AFM could not visualize the drug-free micelles. The DLS Results give the larger aggregates a hydrodynamic radius of 79 ± 25 nm—an approximate diameter of 158 ± 50 nm—but do not identify that measurement specifically as the diameter of the worms. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • SANS revealed that the core of these paclitaxel-loaded micelles has a raspberry-like sphere morphology with a diameter of 4 to 6 nm.

    “Further physicochemical analysis of these paclitaxel loaded polymeric micelles by SANS revealed that the micelle core represents a raspberry-like sphere morphology with a diameter of 4 to 6 nm.”

    From Polymeric micelles for the delivery of poorly soluble drugs: From nanoformulation to clinical approval. (2020) · cites this paper as [115]

    The Results section (Small-Angle Neutron Scattering; page unavailable) reports that SANS measurements found micellar-core spheres with radii of 4–6 nm, not diameters. It also says that formulations with more than 8 wt % paclitaxel were modeled as raspberry-like spheres, supporting the morphology claim only at those drug loadings. (LLM, conf=0.90)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • At greater than 8% paclitaxel loading w/w, the micelles underwent a structural transition from worm-like micelles to small uniform spherical micelles of about 45-50 nm.

    “As the drug was loaded in the micelles at some critical point (>8% paclitaxel loading w/w), the micelles underwent a structural transition from worm-like micelles to small and uniform spherical micelles of about 45–50 nm.”

    From Polymeric micelles for the delivery of poorly soluble drugs: From nanoformulation to clinical approval. (2020) · cites this paper as [115]

    The Results (Aggregate Characterization by AFM and (Cryo-)TEM; page unavailable) report that paclitaxel-loaded micelles became uniform spheres approximately 40–50 nm in diameter by AFM. But the paper does not identify >8 wt % as the threshold for the wormlike-to-spherical switch: the Abstract says small amounts of drug left only spherical morphologies, while the Results (Small-Angle Neutron Scattering; page unavailable) associate >8 wt % with a raspberry-like core structure. (LLM, conf=0.90)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • The size obtained by AFM results slightly lower compared to DLS analysis, probably because AFM measures the diameter of particles when collapsed after solvent evaporation whereas DLS focuses on the determination of the hydrodynamic diameter, that is sensitive to corona swelling caused by the solvent.

    “Generally, the size obtained by using AFM results slightly lower compared to DLS analysis, probably because AFM technique measures the diameter of particles when collapsed after solvent evaporation whereas DLS focuses on the determination of the hydrodynamic diameter, that is sensitive to corona swelling caused by the solvent.”

    From Polymeric micelles in drug delivery: An insight of the techniques for their characterization and assessment in biorelevant conditions (2021) · cites this paper as [158]

    Split into 2 atoms — 0 confirmed, 2 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 0 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.

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  • For drug-loaded micelles, molecular interactions between the drug and micelle affect stability, size, and morphology, and thereby strongly influence biological performance as drug delivery vehicles.

    “For the drug containing micelles, the molecular interactions between the solubilized drug and the micelle are also important parameters that can affect not only the stability of the micelle but also its size and morphology, thereby strongly influencing the biological performance of the polymeric micelles as drug delivery vehicles [114, 115].”

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Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Aoi K.; Takasu A.; Okada M.; Imae T. Synthesis and Assembly of Novel Chitin Derivatives Having Amphiphilic Polyoxazoline Block Copolymer as a Side Chain. Macromol. Chem. Phys. 1999, 200, 1112– 1120.
  2. Si Z. H.; Wang G. C.; Li H. X.; Yuan J. L.; He B. L. Studies on Micellization of a Polystyrene-b-poly(acrylic acid) Copolymer in Aqueous Media by Pyrene Fluorescence. Chin. Chem. Lett. 2003, 14, 39– 42.
  3. Jaksch S. Phasenverhalten von Poly(2-Oxazolinen) in wässriger Lösung. PhD Thesis, Technische Universität München, 2013.

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Authors
Schulz, A., Jaksch, S., Schubel, R., Wegener, E., Di, Z., Han, Y., Meister, A., Kressler, J., Kabanov, A. V., Luxenhofer, R., Papadakis, C. M., & Jordan, R.
Affiliations
  • Technische Universität Dresden (DE)
  • Technical University of Munich (DE)
  • Technische Universität Dresden Professur für Makromolekulare Chemie, Department Chemie, , Mommsenstraße 4, 01069 Dresden, Germany
  • Forschungszentrum Jülich (DE)
  • Wuhan University of Technology (CN)
  • Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (DE)
  • Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg Physikalische Chemie der Polymere, , Von-Danckelmann-Platz 4, 06099 Halle, Germany
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
  • University of Würzburg (DE)
Corresponding author
Jordan, Rainer
Venue
ACS Nano
Published
2014-02-18
Volume
8
Issue
3
Pages
2686-2696
ISSN
  • 1936-0851 (ISSN-L)
  • 1936-086X
OpenAlex
W2114095008
Cited by
142
References
39
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 3
FWCI
5.40
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • ACS Nano (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) (submittedVersion)
  • iMPULSE (Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum) (submittedVersion)
  • Online Publication Service of Würzburg University (Würzburg University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • UNC Libraries
Funders
National Cancer Institute (U01 CA116591, R01CA116591)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Biomaterials › Nanoparticle-Based Drug Delivery
  • Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Organic Chemistry › Advanced Polymer Synthesis and Characterization
  • Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Organic Chemistry › Surfactants and Colloidal Systems
Keywords
poly(2-oxazoline), polymeric micelles, paclitaxel, drug loading capacity, amphiphilic triblock copolymers, wormlike micelles, micellar stability, hydrophobic drug delivery, poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline), aggregation behavior
MeSH terms
Chemistry, Pharmaceutical, Drug Carriers, Micelles, Models, Molecular, Molecular Conformation, Oxazoles, Solubility, Paclitaxel, Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions

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