Barbiturate derived amphiphilic homopolymers: synthesis, characterization, self-assembly and anticancer drug delivery

Aim: Our aim was to synthesis and characterization of amphiphilic norbornene-derived thiobarbiturate homopolymers (NDTH 1-4) for drug delivery. Methods: Ring-opening metathesis polymerization technique was used to prepare a series of homopolymers. The hydrophobicity is introduced by increasing the number of carbon chains ([-CH2-](n); n=1, 2, 3 & 4) in between norbornene backbone and thiobarbiturate species. Results: These vesicular aggregates have been used as anticancer Doxorubicin drug delivery vehicles at the acidic (5.5) and physiological (7.4) pHs. Confocal laser-scanning microscopy has demonstrated that the drug-loaded vesicles are easily internalized into living cells. Conclusion: Amphiphilic norbornene-derived thiobarbiturate homopolymer assemblies showed efficient nanocarrier for effective anticancer drug delivery.