Thermally reactive N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA) amphiphiles for drug solubilisation

Curtis, Anthony

Abstract

Thermally active polymers, can respond structurally to temperature changes, making them interesting as potential drug delivery vehicles. Polymers of N-(3-aminopropyl) methacrylamide hydrochloride (APMA) are cationic with primary amine groups in their structure, which have been explored in biomedical applications via post-polymerisation modifications. In this work, we synthesised amphiphilic APMA monomers using hydrophobic pendant groups via conjugation onto their primary amine group. The pendant groups chosen in this study were palmitoyl, dansyl and cholesteryl moieties. The amphiphilic monomers were subsequently copolymerized with N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA) using varied monomer feed ratios resulting in a thermoresponsive system. The ability of the resultant aggregates in aqueous solution to encapsulate and liberate model drugs (e.g., propofol, griseofulvin and prednisolone) was then determined. Our data showed that the HPMA based formulations were capable of loading the model drug molecules inside their lipophilic core; HPMAco-(APMA-Dansyl 2%) exhibited the largest drug encapsulation ability. Subsequently, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) was incorporated into the intrinsic polymer structure. This resulted in a more rapid drug release profile, whereby 100% of griseofulvin and prednisolone were liberated after only 4 h, which was only 5% and 10% before the PEG inclusion, respectively. Similarly, propofol showed 70% liberation from the polymer aggregate after 24 h, compared with only 30% liberation pre-PEGylation. These studies give an insight into the potential of the HMPA based amphiphiles as thermally responsive cargo carrier/release systems which could be exploited in the delivery of poorly soluble drugs.

Citation

Curtis, A., Alsuraifi, A., Mathew, E., Lamprou, D. A., & Hoskins, C. (2021). Thermally reactive N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA) amphiphiles for drug solubilisation. International Journal of Pharmaceutics, 601, Article ARTN 120570. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2021.120570

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 31, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Apr 2, 2021
• Publication Date: May 15, 2021
• Journal: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICS
• Print ISSN: 0378-5173
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 601
• Article Number: ARTN 120570
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2021.120570
• Keywords: Thermo-responsive polymers; drug delivery; intelligent nanomedicine; smart polymers; drug solubilisation
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378517321003756?via%3Dihub