A Novel PEtOx-Based Nanogel Targeting Prostate Cancer Cells for Drug Delivery

2023-01-01
Gülyüz, Sevgi
SESSEVMEZ, Melike
Ukuser, Gokcen
Khalily, Melek Parlak
Tiryaki, Selen
Sipahioglu, Tarik
Birgül, Kaan
Ömeroğlu, İpek
Özçubukçu, Salih
Telci, Dilek
Küçükgüzel, Ş. Güniz
Durmuş, Mahmut
Cevher, Erdal
Yılmaz, Özgür
This study focuses on creating a specialized nanogel for targeted drug delivery in cancer treatment, specifically targeting prostate cancer. This nanogel (referred to as SGK 636/Peptide 563/PEtOx nanogel) is created using hydrophilic poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PEtOx) through a combination of living/cationic ring-opening polymerization (CROP) and alkyne-azide cycloaddition (CuAAC) “click” chemical reactions. A fluorescent probe (BODIPY) is also conjugated with the nanogel to monitor drug delivery. The characterizations through 1H-NMR, and FT-IR, SEM, TEM, and DLS confirm the successful production of uniform, and spherical nanogels with controllable sizes (100 to 296 nm) and stability in physiological conditions. The biocompatibility of nanogels is evaluated using MTT cytotoxicity assays, revealing dose-dependent cytotoxicity. Drug-loaded nanogels exhibited significantly higher cytotoxicity against cancer cells in vitro compared to drug-free nanogels. Targeting efficiency is examined using both peptide-conjugated and peptide-free nanogels, with the intracellular uptake of peptide 563-conjugated nanogels by tumor cells being 60-fold higher than that of nanogels without the peptide. The findings suggest that the prepared nanogel holds great potential for various drug delivery applications due to its ease of synthesis, tunable functionality, non-toxicity, and enhanced intracellular uptake in the tumor region.
Macromolecular Bioscience
Citation Formats
S. Gülyüz et al., “A Novel PEtOx-Based Nanogel Targeting Prostate Cancer Cells for Drug Delivery,” Macromolecular Bioscience, pp. 0–0, 2023, Accessed: 00, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=85174516340&origin=inward.