Amplified release through the stimulus triggered degradation of self-immolative oligomers, dendrimers, and linear polymers.

In recent years, numerous delivery systems based on polymers, dendrimers, and nano-scale assemblies have been developed to improve the properties of drug molecules. In general, for the drug molecules to be active, they must be released from these delivery systems, ideally in a selective manner at the therapeutic target. As the changes in physiological conditions are relatively subtle from one tissue to another and the concentrations of specific enzymes are often quite low, a release strategy involving the amplification of a biological signal is particularly attractive.

Design, synthesis, and cyclization of 4-aminobutyric acid derivatives: potential candidates as self-immolative spacers.

Self-immolative spacers have gained significant interest in recent years due to their utility in numerous prodrug, sensor and drug delivery systems. However, there are a very limited number of spacers that are capable of undergoing spontaneous and rapid reactions under mild conditions. To address this need, 4-aminobutyric acid derivatives were explored as a potential class of self-immolative spacers.

A cascade biodegradable polymer based on alternating cyclization and elimination reactions.

Polymers that depolymerize by a cascade of intramolecular reactions in response to the removal of a stabilizing end-cap can allow for an unprecedented degree of control over the polymer degradation process. Described here is the development of polymers comprising N,N'-dimethylethylenediamine and 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol linked by carbamate linkages. The polycarbamate backbone is stable in aqueous solution, but removal of a protective end-cap from the amine terminus allows the diamine to cyclize, forming N,N'-dimethylimidazolidinone and releasing the phenol, which undergoes a 1,6-elimination followed by the release of CO(2) to reveal the next amine to continue the cascade.

Fluorine and rhenium substituted ghrelin analogues as potential imaging probes for the growth hormone secretagogue receptor.

In our effort to create imaging probes targeting the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR), we now report on the design and synthesis of fluorine and rhenium containing ghrelin analogues through modification of the n-octanoyl Ser-3 side chain. Fluorine analogues were designed whereby the fluorine atom is situated at the terminus of an aliphatic chain using diaminopropionic acid (Dpr) as residue-3. Truncated ghrelin(1-5) and ghrelin(1-14) fluorine-bearing analogues were prepared, the best of which had a 28 nM IC(50) for GHSR.