Clickable Degradable Aliphatic Polyesters via Copolymerization with Alkyne Epoxy Esters: Synthesis and Postfunctionalization with Organic Dyes

Degradable aliphatic polyesters are the cornerstones of nanoparticle (NP)-based therapeutics. In this paradigm, covalent modification of the NP with cell-targeting motifs and dyes can aid in guiding the NP to its destination and gaining visual confirmation. Therefore, strategies to impart chemistries along the polymer backbone that are amenable to easy modification, such as 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of an azide to an alkyne (the "click reaction"), could be significant. Here we present a simple and efficient way to introduce alkyne groups at high density in aliphatic polyesters without compromising their crystallinity via the copolymerization of cyclic lactones with propargyl 3-methylpentenoate oxide (PMPO). Copolymers of lactic acid and E-caprolactone with PMPO were synthesized with up to 9 mol % alkyne content, and accessibility of the alkyne groups to the click reaction was demonstrated using several dyes commonly employed in fluorescence microscopy and imaging (Cy3, ATTO-740, and coumarin 343). In order to establish the suitability of these copolymers as nanocarriers, copolymers were formulated into NPs, and cytocompatibility, cellular uptake, and visualization studies undertaken in HeLa cells. Dye-modified NPs exhibited no quenching, remained stable in solution for at least 10 days, showed no cytotoxicity, and were readily taken up by HeLa cells. Furthermore, in addition to enabling the incorporation of multiple fluorophores within the same NP through blending of individual dye-modified copolymers, dye-modified polyesters offer advantages over physical entrapment of dye, including improved signal to noise ratio and localization of the fluorescence signal within cells, and possess the necessary prerequisites for drug delivery and imaging.