Thermosensitive and hydrolysis-sensitive poly(organophosphazenes)

The lower critical solution temperature (LCST) properties and hydrolytic behaviour of thermosensitive biodegradable polyphosphazenes with monomethoxy-poly(ethylene glycol), glycine ethyl ester and depsipeptide ethyl esters substituents have been studied. All the polymers synthesized show LCST properties. The LCSTs of the polymers are affected by the composition of the polymers and increase with the degradation of the polymers in aqueous solution. The higher content of depsipeptide ethyl esters in the polymers accelerates the LCST change and the degradation of the polymers in aqueous solution. Most polymers synthesized have half-lives of less than 10 days in neutral solution. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry

Synthesis, biodistribution and antitumor activity of hematoporphyrin-platinum(II) conjugates

A new series of platinum(II) complexes of pegylated hematoporphyrin derivatives with controlled hydrophobic/hydrophilic balance were synthesized by introducing different kinds of poly(ethylene glycol) and amine ligands to the porphyrin ring. The antitumor activity of the porphyrin-platinum(II) conjugates was assayed in vitro and in vivo against leukemia L1210 cell line and various human tumor cell lines. The present complexes exhibited high antitumor activity and improved water solubility as well as considerable lipophilicity. In particular, complex 16 showed not only higher in vivo activity (T/C%=258) than cisplatin (T/C%=184) and carboplatin (T/C%=168), but also excellent solubility in water and organic solvent. The antitumor activity of complex 20 was superior to that of carboplatin against all human tumor cell lines tested. Moreover, some amphiphilic complexes (7 and 12) exhibited elevated tumor-localizing effect (tumor/muscle ratio>2). © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

Synthesis, characterization, and tumor selectivity of a polyphosphazene-platinum(II) conjugate

A new amphiphilic poly(organophosphazene) was synthesized by stepwise nucleophilic substitutions with a hydrophilic methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) with an average molecular weight of 350 (MPEG350) and a hydrophobic glycyl-l-glutamate as side groups, and then an antitumor (dach)platinum(II) (dach: trans-(±)-1,2-diaminocyclohexane) moiety was conjugated to the polymer using the dipeptide as a spacer. This polymeric platinum conjugate was found to be accumulated in the tumor tissue to a remarkably greater extent than in the normal tissue (tumor/tissue ratio >4), probably due to the excellent EPR effect and the long circulating properties of the polymer conjugate (t 1/2β = 6.2 h and AUC = 4020 nmol h/ml) compared with carboplatin (t1/2β = 0.42 h and AUC = 120 nmol h/ml). The polymer conjugate also exhibited high in vitro cytotoxicity comparable to cisplatin against several human tumor cells tested. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

A macromolecular prodrug of doxorubicin conjugated to a biodegradable cyclotriphosphazene bearing a tetrapeptide

A new biodegradable water-soluble phosphazene trimer-doxorubicin conjugate was synthesized, in which equimolar hydrophilic methoxy-poly(ethylene glycol) with a molecular weight of 350 (MPEG350) and a tumor-specific tetrapeptide (Gly-Phe-Leu-Gly) were grafted to cyclotriphosphazene. The present conjugate exhibited cytotoxicity lower than that of free doxorubicin (IC50 = 0,10 μM) but a reasonably higher in vitro cytotoxicity (IC50 = 1.1 μM) against the leukemia L1210 cell line probably due to its enzymatically controlled release. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

A thermosensitive poly(organophosphazene) gel

Thermosensitive poly(organophosphazenes) bearing α-amino-ω-methoxy-PEG (AMPEG) and hydrophobic L-isoleucine ethyl ester (IleOEt) as side groups have been synthesized, and their reversible sol-gel properties were investigated by means of 31P NMR spectroscopy and viscometer. In an aqueous solution, the poly(organophosphazenes) exhibited four-phase transitions with temperature gradually increasing: a transparent sol, a transparent gel, a opaque gel, and a turbid sol. The gelation properties of the polymer were affected by several factors such as the composition of substituents, the chain length of AMPEG, and the concentration of the polymer solutions. The more hydrophilic composition of the polymers offers the higher gelation temperature. The gelation of the polymer is presumed to be attributed to the hydrophobic interaction between the side-chain fragments (-CH(CH 3)CH 2CH 3) of IleOEt which act as the physical junction in the polymer aqueous solution

Synthesis and antitumor activity of novel thermosensitive platinum(II)-cyclotriphosphazene conjugates

Thermosensitive cyclotriphosphazenes bearing alkoxy poly(ethylene glycol) and amino acid esters as side groups could be functionalized to chelate the antitumor (diamine)platinum(II) moiety through the dicarboxylate group of the amino acid substituent on the cyclic phosphazene ring. Surprisingly, like the precursor cyclotriphosphazenes, these (diamine)platinum(II)-cyclotriphosphazene conjugates were also found to exhibit variable lower critical solution temperatures (LCST) in the wide range of 12 to 92°C. Furthermore, the present conjugates have shown outstanding in vitro and in vivo antitumor activities due to controlled release of the antitumor (diamine)platinum(II) moiety with hydrolytic degradation of the phosphazene ring. A few of these conjugates have shown LCSTs below body temperature, and it has been shown from a model animal experiment that the conjugates with a LCST below body temperature may be applied to local drug delivery by direct intratumoral injection. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Enhanced antitumor activitiy of trans(±)-1,2-Diaminocyclo- hexaneglutamatoplatinum(II) formulated with stealth liposome

The antitumor platinum(II) compound, [Pt(dach)(Glu)] (dach=trans(±)- 1,2-diaminocyclohexane, Glu=glutamate) was formulated with a stealth liposome to improve its biological activity. Liposomes were composed of PC/PEG2000-PE/CH (PC=1,2-diacyl-glycero-3-phosphocholine; PEG2000-PE=poly(ethylene glycol)2000-1,2-diacyl-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine; CH=cholesterol) involving different acyl moieties of phospholipids such as DO (dioleoyl), DM (dimyristoyl) or DS (distearoyl) group. Among the different acyl groups in the stealth liposomes, the DM formulation was optimal for the preparation of the liposomal [Pt(dach)(Glu)] at the mole ratio of DMPC/PEG2000-DMPE/CH=50/5/45 and at the weight ratio of drug/lipid=1/20, which is represented as L-[Pt(dach)(Glu)]. In vitro cytotoxicity was examined in sensitive A2780 and ME180 and their cisplatin-resistant A2780/PDD and ME180/PDD cancer cells. L-[Pt(dach)(Glu)] was 2~3 times more cytotoxic than the free complex [Pt(dach)(Glu)] and cisplatin in sensitive cells, and 4~8 times more cytotoxic in resistant cells. Thus, the resistance index of L-[Pt(dach)(Glu)] was 1.3~2 while those of the free complex and cisplatin were 5~6, which indicates that L-[Pt(dach)(Glu)] overcome the cisplatin resistance in both resistant cells. In vivo antitumor activity was assayed against the L1210/S leukemia. The optimal activities (% T/C) of the free complex and L-[Pt(dach)(Glu)] were >459/20 and >442/200 mg/kg, respectively. Considering the amount of the platinum complex in L-[Pt(dach)(Glu)], the liposomal [Pt(dach)(Glu)] displayed 2-fold higher drug potency than the free complex. The biodistribution experiment using LE52 tumor-bearing mouse showed excellent lung targeting property of L-[Pt(dach)(Glu)]. © 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Synthesis and antitumor activity of DNA binding cationic porphyrin-platinum(II) complexes

A new series of DNA binding 5,10,15-tri(N-methyl-4-pyridiniumyl)porphyrin (TrisMPyP)-platinum(II) conjugates was synthesized, in which different spacer ligands were used for appropriate coordination to platinum(II) complexes. Compound 9b exhibited in vivo antitumor activity (T/C%, 294) superior to cisplatin (T/C%, 184) against the leukemia L1210 cell line. © 2003 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd

Coordination modes vs. antitumor activity: Synthesis and antitumor activity of novel platinum(II) complexes of N-substituted amino dicarboxylic acids

The trans-(±)-1,2-diaminocyclohexaneplatinum(II) complexes of multidentate L-glutamate (Glu) and L-aspartate (Asp) were prepared and their antitumor activity was examined in relation with their coordination modes. All these complexes were obtained as a mixture of (O,O′)- and (O,N)-chelate isomers due to rapid isomerization of the initially formed (O,O′)-isomer to the thermodynamically more stable (O,N)-isomer. The (O,O′)/(O,N)- isomeric mixture with the mole ratio of 80/20 exhibited excellent antitumor activity while the pure (O,N)-isomer was only marginally active. Therefore, in order to prevent the linkage isomerization of the active (O,O′)-isomer to the inactive (O,N)-isomer, we have designed N-substituted amino dicarboxylic acids as a leaving group and prepared a new series of complexes, [Pt(dach)(RGlu)] and [Pt(dach)(RAsp)] (dach=trans-(±)-1,2- diaminocyclohexane; R=acetyl (Ac), propionyl (Pro), pivaloyl (Piv), carbobenzyloxy (Cbz) or phthaloyl (Phth)) and characterized by means of elemental analyses, and 1H NMR, 195Pt NMR and IR spectroscopies. The N-substituted amino dicarboxylate ligands were found to coordinate to platinum(II) ion through only the (O,O′)-chelation mode, and their Pt(II) complexes were chemically stable in aqueous solution. The present Pt(II) complexes of N-substituted amino dicarboxylic acids showed excellent antitumor activity against both murine leukemia L1210 and human tumor cells. Especially, the highly hydrophobic N-phthaloylglutamate complex, [Pt(dach)(PhthGlu)], exhibited an outstanding in vitro activity (IC 50=2.22 μM) on the human stomach cancer cells which are not responsive to cisplatin and carboplatin. © 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Phase transition of the PLGA-g-PEG copolymer aqueous solutions

The aqueous solution of poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid)-g-poly(ethylene glycol) becomes a gel as the temperature increases. The sol-to-gel transition temperature can be controlled from 15 to 45°C by varying the number of poly(ethylene glycol) grafts and the composition of the polymer. In addition, hysteresis between heating and cooling cycles could be controlled by adding poly(ethylene glycol) with different molecular weights as an additive. To prove the hypothesis of micellar aggregation for the sol-to-gel transition and the change in hydration status for the gel-to-sol transition, several experiments were performed. Small-angle neutron scattering and Raman spectroscopy sensitively detected the sol-to-gel transition, because it involves aggregation of the scattering particle of micelles. IR and 13C NMR showed that little change in hydration status is involved during the sol-to-gel transition, whereas significant change in hydration status is involved in the gel-to-sol transition. The intrinsic viscosity of the PEG showed that more significant dehydration can occur when PEG is attached to the hydrophobic group. On the basis of the experiments above, PEG dehydration is the major driving force for the phase change of the PLGA-g-PEG aqueous solution. At the sol-to-gel transition temperature, partial dehydration of the PEG induces the micellar aggregation while keeping the core-shell structure. However, at the gel-to-sol transition, dehydration of the PEG is so significant that the core-shell structure is broken and macroscopic phase separation occurs. These phenomena were associated with changes in the carbonyl stretching and ether bending modes in the IR spectra