Cyclic Peptide–Polymer Conjugate Nanotubes for Delivery of SN‐38 in Treatment of Colorectal Cancer Model

Cyclic peptide-polymer conjugate nanotubes have been shown to be powerful drug delivery vectors, due to their propensity for dynamic self-assembly, high aspect ratio morphology and structural interchangeability. Building upon previous studies that demonstrate the shielding abilities of the polymeric corona of nanotubes to enhance pro-drug bond stabilities and modulate hydrolysis, here the concept of a hydrophobic core building block with multiple drug units to improve drug loading capacity and overall efficiency of the nanotube carriers is utilized. By leveraging the intermolecular features of the drug core to strengthen assembly, it is hypothesized that these nanotubes have the potential as a responsive supramolecular delivery system whereby upon full hydrolysis of the labile drug, these core forming interactions disappear, and nanotubes can fall apart and undergo clearance. Herein, the self-assembly, in vitro efficacy and in vivo pharmacokinetic and anti-tumor pharmacodynamics of these nanotubes in colorectal cancer models, comparing the potent topoisomerase inhibitor SN-38 with its clinically-used parent pro-drug irinotecan, is explored.