Glutathione-Responsive Polyhomocysteine Derivatives with Ultralow Toxicity toward Therapeutic Delivery

Disulfide-containing synthetic polypeptides hold significant promise as biodegradable and biocompatible carriers for controlled drug and gene delivery, enabling triggered therapeutic release with reduced cytotoxicity. However, disulfide incorporation remains challenging, whether through direct polymerization of disulfide-containing monomers or postpolymerization modification. In this work, we present an innovative and simple strategy to incorporate disulfide bonds into polypeptides using ring-opening polymerization of the N-carboxyanhydride of homocysteine, a thiol-containing amino acid. The polymerization was well-controlled, yielding repeating units up to 100 with narrow dispersity. The pendant side chains were readily converted into various GSH-responsive moieties, including anionic, neutral, zwitterionic, and cationic groups, as well as therapeutic agents toward a wide range of biomedical applications. The drug-loaded amphiphilic polymer-drug conjugates displayed triggered release of intact drug and potent anticancer activities. Furthermore, cationic polyhomocysteine derivatives effectively delivered siRNA, eGFP mRNA, and more complex CRISPR components with extremely low cytotoxicity and excellent transfection efficiency.