Determination of the optimal pH for doxorubicin encapsulation in polymeric micelles.

Hypothesis: The anticancer drug doxorubicin hydrochloride (DX) shows a high solubility in aqueous media thanks to the positive charge in the ammonium group. This feature, however, affects the drug encapsulation in the hydrophobic domains of polymeric micelles (PMs) used for the targeted delivery of the drug. At basic pH, DX deprotonates but also acquires a negative charge in the phenolic groups of the anthracycline structure.

Polarity studies of single polyelectrolyte layers in polyelectrolyte multilayers probed by steady state and life time doxorubicin fluorescence.

Hypothesis: Polarity in polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) may vary from the inner to the top layers of the film as the charge compensation of the layers is more effective inside the PEMs than in outer layers. Doxorubicin hydrochloride (DX) is used here to sense polarity at the single polyelectrolyte level inside PEMS.

Experimental: DX is complexed electrostatically to a polyanion, either polystyrene sulfonate (PSS) or polyacrylic acid (PAA) and assembled at selected positions in a multilayer of the polyanion and polyallylamine hydrochloride (PAH) as polycation.

The B & B approach: Ball-milling conjugation of dextran with phenylboronic acid (PBA)-functionalized BODIPY.

Mechanochemistry is an emerging and reliable alternative to conventional solution (batch) synthesis of complex molecules under green and solvent-free conditions. In this regard, we report here on the conjugation of a dextran polysaccharide with a fluorescent probe, a phenylboronic acid (PBA)-functionalized boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) applying the ball milling approach. The ball milling formation of boron esters between PBA BODIPY and dextran proved to be more efficient in terms of reaction time, amount of reactants, and labelling degree compared to the corresponding solution-based synthetic route.

Poloxamer/sodium cholate co-formulation for micellar encapsulation of doxorubicin with high efficiency for intracellular delivery: An in-vitro bioavailability study.

Hypothesis: Doxorubicin hydrochloride (DX) is widely used as a chemotherapeutic agent, though its severe side-effects limit its clinical use. A way to overcome these limitations is to increase DX latency through encapsulation in suitable carriers. However, DX has a high solubility in water, hindering encapsulation.

A fluorescence study of the loading and time stability of doxorubicin in sodium cholate/PEO-PPO-PEO triblock copolymer mixed micelles.

Hypothesis: Doxorubicin hydrochloride (DX) is one of the most powerful anticancer agents though its clinical use is impaired by severe undesired side effects. DX encapsulation in nanocarrier systems has been introduced as a mean to reduce its toxicity. Micelles of the nonionic triblock copolymers of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) (PEO-PPO-PEO), are very promising carrier systems.