Doxorubicin-loaded mPEG-pPAd-mPEG triblock polymeric nanoparticles for drug delivery systems: preparation and in vitro evaluation

Conventional methods in chemotherapy and radiotherapy do not target tumor sites treating breast cancer. Therefore, they cause some extra adverse effects on healthy tissues and cells, which bring fatal results. In recent applications, drug delivery systems have been used to target tumors directly or their environment indirectly. The new approach has attracted considerable interest due to its promise to overcome breast cancer with little adverse effect. Synthetic or natural polymer shell capsules are generally used to deliver therapeutic agents due to their biocompatibility and biodegradability. Doxorubicin (DOX), a convenient chemotherapeutic agent, was encapsulated using produced monomethyl ether ended poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(propylene adipate)- monomethyl ether ended poly(ethylene glycol) (mPEG-pPAd-mPEG) triblock copolymers in this study. The nanoparticle form of the prepared mPEG-pPAd-mPEG tri-block copolymer system was produced by a double emulsion-solvent evaporation method. To prepare triblock copolymer, firstly, poly (propylene adipate) (pPAd) was synthesized and characterized by using Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy structurally and end-group analysis method to determine the number average molecular weight. The nanoparticle's size characteristics were measured by the Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) method, while encapsulation efficacy and DOX-release profile were determined by spectrofluorometer instrument. Following the production of the nanoparticles, the antiproliferative effect and cellular uptake efficiency of the mPEG-pPAd-mPEG nanoparticles (PANPs), the doxorubicin-loaded mPEG-pPAd-mPEG nanoparticles (DPANPs), ICG-loaded mPEG-pPAd-mPEG nanoparticles (IPANPs), free-DOX, and free-ICG were tested on MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line. The cytotoxicity analysis revealed that the DPANPs exhibited low toxicity compared to free-DOX. The physical and chemical analysis showed that the nanoparticles produced within this study's scope could be used as new drug delivery systems for breast cancer treatment.