Controllable Synthesis of Multiarm Star-Shaped Copolymers Composed of Phosphoester Chains and Their Application on Drug Delivery

Novel biodegradable polymers with specific properties, structures, and tailorable designs or modifications are in great demand. Poly(phosphoester)s with good biocompatibility and degradability, as well as other adjustable properties have been studied widely because of their potential in biomedical applications. To meet more versatile and diverse biomedical applications, a novel multiarm star-shaped phosphorester triblock copolymer poly(amido amine)-block-poly( 2-butynyl phospholane)-block-poly(2-methoxy phospholane) (PAMAM-PBYP-PMP) is synthesized via organo-catalyzed sequential ring-opening polymerization. Supramolecular micelles with good architectural stability are self-assembled into uniform spherical morphology in aqueous solution. Doxorubicin (DOX) can be encapsulated into the micelles with efficient loading capacity. A slow and sustained release in the environment of simulated intracellular lysosome (pH 5.0 with phosphodiesterase I) is observed. In addition, the copolymers and DOX-loaded supramolecular micelles exhibit low cell-toxicity and excellent anticancer activity toward HeLa cells. As a consequence, this multiarm starshaped PAMAM-PBYP-PMP has great potential in drug delivery system for tumor treatment.