Dual responsive PMEEECL-PAE block copolymers: A computational self-assembly and doxorubicin uptake study

Amin Koochaki, Mohammad Reza Moghbeli, Sousa Javan Nikkhah, Alessandro Ianiro, Remco Tuinier

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The self-assembly behaviour of dual-responsive block copolymers and their ability to solubilize the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) has been investigated using all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, MARTINI coarse-grained (CG) force field simulation and Scheutjens-Fleer self-consistent field (SCF) computations. These diblock copolymers, composed of poly{γ-2-[2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy]ethoxy-ϵ-caprolactone} (PMEEECL) and poly(β-amino ester) (PAE) are dual-responsive: the PMEEECL block is thermoresponsive (becomes insoluble above a certain temperature), while the PAE block is pH-responsive (becomes soluble below a certain pH). Three MEEECL20-AEM compositions with M = 5, 10, and 15, have been studied. All-atom MD simulations have been performed to calculate the coil-to-globule transition temperature (Tcg) of these copolymers and finding appropriate CG mapping for both PMEEECL-PAE and DOX. The output of the MARTINI CG simulations is in agreement with SCF predictions. The results show that DOX is solubilized with high efficiency (75-80%) at different concentrations inside the PMEEECL-PAE micelles, although, interestingly, the loading efficiency is reduced by increasing the drug concentration. The non-bonded interaction energy and the RDF between DOX and water beads confirm this result. Finally, MD simulations and SCF computations reveal that the responsive behaviour of PMEEECL-PAE self-assembled structures take place at temperature and pH ranges appropriate for drug delivery.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3233-3245
Number of pages13
JournalRSC Advances
Volume10
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020
Externally publishedYes

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