Synthesis and Self‐Assemblies of Amphiphilic Copolymers Poly(Ethylene Glycol)‐Block‐Poly(Ethyl‐2‐Cyanoacrylate) Carriers for Antitumor Drugs

ABSTRACT The interaction of commercial polyethyleneglycol monomethyl ethers of various molecular weights and ethyl‐2‐cyanoacrylate yields adducts that, under the action of nucleophiles, release ethyl 2‐cyanoacrylate, which immediately polymerizes by an anionic mechanism. This leads to the formation of a series of amphiphilic block copolymers with different lengths of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic blocks. The synthesized amphiphilic block copolymers were characterized by MALDI‐TOF, XPS, TEM, 1 H NMR, and IR spectroscopy, as well as gel permeation chromatography. The possibility of micelle‐like aggregates formation in aqueous media as a result of self‐assembly of amphiphilic copolymers of poly(ethyleneglycol)‐block‐poly(ethyl‐2‐cyanoacrylate) with number‐average and intensity‐averaged diameters of 115–140 nm and 190–240 nm, respectively, which vary relatively little with a change in the length of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic blocks, is shown. It was found that nanoparticles formed on the basis of poly(ethyleneglycol)‐block‐poly(ethyl‐2‐cyanoacrylate) do not exert a noticeable cytotoxic effect up to a concentration of 0.55 mg mL −1 in vitro experiments on the MCF‐7 cell line and exhibit pronounced antitumor activity after loading with doxorubicin. Nanoparticles based on amphiphilic PEGylated poly(ethyl‐2‐cyanoacrylate) are technologically advanced and easy to obtain and have a suitable size and low cytotoxicity, which makes them promising candidates as carriers of antitumor drugs.