Preparation method for charge reversal and reversibly crosslinked redox-sensitive nanomicelles

Abstract

Disclosed is a preparation method for charge reversal and reversibly crosslinked redox-sensitive nanomicelles, falling within the technical field of biomedical materials. The method comprises: synthesizing thiocinamide from lipoic acid and ethylenediamine under an N,N-carbonyl diimidazole catalyst; and polymerizing thiocinamide, polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether and lysine through a nucleophilic addition mechanism to prepare a poly(lysine-co-polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether-co-thiocinamide) terpolymer. The micelle is endowed with excellent anti-protein nonspecific adsorption and enhanced cell uptake property through a self-assembly and protonation/deprotonation action; and a disulfide bond in lipoyl may form a linear polydisulfide structure under the action of 1,4-dithiothreitol, so that a micelle core is crosslinked, and a crosslinked structure is destroyed in the cell under a redox condition, and controlled release of a drug can be achieved. The Nanomicelle of the present invention is expected to be a carrier of drugs for treating cancers.

Claims

1. A method for preparing charge reversal and reversibly crosslinked redox-sensitive nanomicelles, comprising the following sequential steps: 1) generating Lipoyl ethylene diamine (LAE) by reacting lipoic acid and ethylenediamine in the presence of a catalyst; 2) obtaining a coarse terpolymer solution by polymerizing the LAE, polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether and lysine in a solvent, through a nucleophilic addition reaction; 3) dialyzing and drying the coarse terpolymer solution to obtain a powder of pure terpolymer; 4) dissolving the pure terpolymer powder in a solvent to form a terpolymer solution, and slowly adding ultra-pure water dropwise into the terpolymer solution, while continuously stirring; 5) stirring the terpolymer solution for a period of time after the addition of ultra-pure water is completed, transferring the terpolymer solution into a dialysis bag, and dialyzing the terpolymer solution to obtain a pure non-crosslinked nano-micelle solution; and 6) under a nitrogen flow, adding a catalytic amount of 1,4-dithiothreitol solution (DTT) to the pure non-crosslinked nano-micelle solution and stirring for 24 hours to obtain a crosslinked nano-micelle solution, and dialyzing the crosslinked nano-micelle solution for 24 hours to obtain a pure crosslinked nano-micelle solution.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein step 1) comprises: dissolving lipoic acid and a N,N-carbonyl diimidazole catalyst in chloroform; allowing the resulting solution to partially react yielding a mixed solution of reacted and unreacted lipoic acid; reacting the mixed solution with a solution of ethylenediamine dissolved in chloroform, to form a reaction mixed solution containing LAE; and exacting the reaction products of the reaction mixed solution using 10% sodium chloride and 1M sodium hydroxide.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein in step 2), the mole ratio of the LAE, the polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether, and the lysine is in a range of 1:0.9:0.1 to 1:0.1:0.9.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein in step 2), the solvent is a mixed solution of methyl alcohol and water having a volume ratio of 1:1; and the polymerization reaction is carried out for 3 days at a temperature of 50 C.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein in step 3), dialyzing is performed with a dialysis bag having a molecular weight cutoff 3500 and a dialysis fluid, wherein the dialysis fluid is a mixed solution of methyl alcohol and water having a volume ratio of 1:1.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein in step 4), the solvent is dimethyl sulfoxide, and the ultra-pure water is added at a speed of 30 s/drop.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein in step 5), the stirring is carried out for two hours; the dialysis bag has a molecular weight cutoff of 3500; and dialyzing is carried out for not less than 24 hours.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein in step 6), 1,4-dithiothreitol is added in an amount of 10 mol % of lipoyl groups; and crosslinking is carried out under a dark condition at a temperature of 25 C.

9. A redox-sensitive reversible crosslinked nano-micelle with reversible charges, prepared by using the method of claim 1.

10. A pharmaceutical composition comprising the redox-sensitive reversible crosslinked nano-micelle with reversible charges of claim 9.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

(1) FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of forming a crosslinked micelle in the present invention;

(2) FIG. 2 is transmission electron microscope images of a reversibly crosslinked redox-sensitive Nanomicelle with reversible charges in the present invention before and after being crosslinked,

(3) where N4 is representative of a reversibly crosslinked redox-sensitive Nanomicelle with reversible charges obtained by a reaction among polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether, thiocinamide and lipoic acid in a mole ratio of 1:0.3:0.7;

(4) FIG. 3 is a critical micelle concentration of a reversibly crosslinked redox-sensitive Nanomicelle with reversible charges in the present invention, where N1, N2, N3 and N4 are representatives of a reversibly crosslinked redox-sensitive Nanomicelle with reversible charges obtained by a reaction among polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether, thiocinamide and lipoic acid in a mole ratio of 1:1:0, 1:0.7:0.3, 1:0.5:0.5 and 1:0.3:0.7 respectively, and C is a polymer micelle concentration (mg/mL);

(5) FIG. 4 is a zeta potential of a reversibly crosslinked redox-sensitive Nanomicelle with reversible charges in the present invention under different pH values, where N1, N2, N3 and N4 are representatives of a reversibly crosslinked redox-sensitive Nanomicelle with reversible charges obtained by a reaction among polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether, thiocinamide and lipoic acid in a mole ratio of 1:1:0, 1:0.7:0.3, 1:0.5:0.5 and 1:0.3:0.7 respectively;

(6) FIG. 5 is a particle size change of a reversibly crosslinked redox-sensitive Nanomicelle with reversible charges in the present invention after being incubated in a protein solution for 24 hours, where in a reversibly crosslinked redox-sensitive Nanomicelle with reversible charges obtained by a reaction among polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether, thiocinamide and lipoic acid in a mole ratio of 1:0.3:0.7, BSA serves as a model protein of which the concentration is 45 g/L;

(7) FIG. 6 is a particle size change of a reversibly crosslinked redox-sensitive Nanomicelle with reversible charges in the present invention, where N4 is representative of a reversibly crosslinked redox-sensitive Nanomicelle with reversible charges obtained by a reaction among polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether, thiocinamide and lipoic acid in a mole ratio of 1:0.3:0.7;

(8) FIG. 7 is a fluorescence intensity change of a reversibly crosslinked redox-sensitive Nanomicelle with reversible charges in the present invention in a 10 mmol/L glutathione solution, where a reversibly crosslinked redox-sensitive Nanomicelle with reversible charges is obtained by a reaction among polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether, thiocinamide and lipoic acid in a mole ratio of 1:0.3:0.7;

(9) FIG. 8 is a cytotoxicity result of a reversibly crosslinked redox-sensitive Nanomicelle with reversible charges in the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(10) The detailed description of the invention will be made below in conjunction with the drawings and the embodiments. The following examples are used to illustrate the present invention, but not to limit the scope of the present invention.

EXAMPLE 1

(11) 1) Synthesis of Thiocinamide:

(12) 3.00 g of lipoic acid (1.45102 mol) and 2.59 g of N,N-carbonyl diimidazole (1.60102 mol) are weighed, and dissolved in 30 mL of chloroform, and react for 1 hour at the temperature of 25 C. under the nitrogen protection, and then a mixed solution is transferred into a dropping funnel and dropwise added into a uniformly-stirred chloroform (30 mL) solution of ethylenediamine (8 mL, 0.12 mol), and reacts for 12 hours at the temperature of 25 C. under the nitrogen protection. After the reaction is ended, a reaction mixed solution is transferred into a separating funnel and extracted by using 10% NaCl (100 mL) and 1M NaOH (100 mL) respectively, organic phases are collected, and an organic solvent is removed by rotary evaporation to obtain a yellow gelatinous compound thiocinamide (2.2 g, 61%).

(13) 2) Synthesis of poly(lysine-co-polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether-co-thiocinamide):

(14) 315 mg of polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (1 mmol), 102 mg of lysine (0.7 mmol) and 75 mg of thiocinamide (0.3 mmol) are weighed respectively and dissolved in 3 mL of a mixed solution of methyl alcohol and water (V:V=1:1), and react for 72 hours in a 25 mL single-opening flask at the temperature of 50 C. under the nitrogen protection. After the reaction is ended, a coarse solution is transferred into a dialysis bag of which the molecular weight cutoff is 3500, dialyzed for 3 days, and freeze-dried to obtain a yellow product. The corresponding dissolution ratio of polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether, thiocinamide and lysine in a mixed solution is as shown in Table 1. The present invention provides only 4 terpolymer synthesis formulas. During a specific using process, the ratio of three monomers is adjusted according to application requirements of a Nanomicelle for different properties.

(15) TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Table of terpolymer synthesis formula Polyethylene glycol Polyethylene diglycidylether:thiocinamide: glycol Nanomicelle lysine diglycidyl number (feeding mole ratio) ether/mg Thiocinamide/mg Lysine/mg N.sub.1 1:1:0 315 248 0 N.sub.2 1:0.7:0.3 315 174 44 N.sub.3 1:0.5:0.5 315 124 73 N.sub.4 1:0.3:0.7 315 75 102

(16) 3) Preparation of Reversibly Crosslinked Redox-Sensitive Nanomicelle with Reversible Charges:

(17) 10 mg of a polymer is weighed and dissolved in 1 mL of dimethyl sulfoxide, and after the polymer is fully dissolved, 8 mL of ultra-pure water is dropwise added. After the step of dropwise adding the water is ended, stirring is carried out for 2 hours, the solution is transferred into the dialysis bag of which the molecular weight cutoff is 3500, and dialysis is carried out for 72 hours, so as to obtain a pure non-crosslinked Nanomicelle solution. The Nanomicelle is crosslinked under the atmosphere of feeding N.sub.2, and a catalytic amount of DTT is added. Specifically, a DTT (77 g, 0.5 mol) solution is added into 10 mL of non-crosslinked N.sub.4 micelle (1 mg/mL) solution, and stirred for 24 hours under a dark condition at the temperature of 25 C. Dialysis is carried out for 24 hours by means of a dialysis method to obtain a pure crosslinked Nanomicelle solution. FIG. 2 is transmission electron microscope images of a reversibly crosslinked redox-sensitive Nanomicelle with reversible charges before and after being crosslinked, where N.sub.4 corresponds to a terpolymer obtained by a formula No. N.sub.4 in Table 1, the micelle is a uniform and regular spherical micelle before and after being crosslinked, and the particle size of the crosslinked micelle is reduced by about 20 nm.

EXAMPLE 2

(18) Measurement of Reversibly Crosslinked Redox-Sensitive Nanomicelle (CMC) with Reversible Charges:

(19) The reversibly crosslinked redox-sensitive Nanomicelle solution with reversible charges obtained in the example 1 is diluted into a series of micelle solutions with different concentrations, and 4 mL of the micelle solution with each concentration is added into 30 L of acetone solution of pyrene of which the concentration is 1.62210.sup.5 g/mL, and incubated in a constant-temperature shaking incubator under the atmosphere of nitrogen for 24 hours at the temperature of 30 C. An emission spectrum is measured by utilizing a fluorescence spectrophotometer, a fluorescence excitation wavelength A is set as 333 nm, a scanning range is in a range of 350 nm to 500 nm, both an excitation slit width and an emission slit width are 5 nm, and the thickness of a sample pool is 1 cm. By measuring the fluorescence intensity of a series of Nanomicelle solutions with different concentrations at 373 nm (l.sub.1) and 384 nm (l.sub.3), a graph is drawn by taking a logarithm concentration as an X axis and l.sub.1/l.sub.3 as a Y axis, and the CMC value of a polymer Nanomicelle is calculated by using a curve discontinuity point. From FIG. 3, it can be seen that N.sub.1, N.sub.2, N.sub.3 and N.sub.4 have lower CMC values namely 0.011, 0.020, 0.030 and 0.038 mg/mL, which are increased along with the increase of the lysine content, and all have good anti-dilution stability.

EXAMPLE 3

(20) pH Sensitivity of Reversibly Crosslinked Redox-Sensitive Nanomicelle with Reversible Charges:

(21) The reversibly crosslinked redox-sensitive Nanomicelle with reversible charges obtained in the example 1 is adjusted to different pH values by using 0.1 mol/L sodium hydroxide solution and a hydrochloric acid solution, and a Zeta potential is measured by utilizing a Zeta potentiometric analyzer. Consequently, from FIG. 4, it can be seen that when carrier material components are not added with lysine (namely N.sub.1), the Nanomicelle is hardly charged under the condition of pH 7.4; and as the pH is decreased, positive charges on the surface of the Nanomicelle are increased. After the lysine component is added, carboxyl can be deprotonated under an alkaline condition, so that the Nanomicelle is negatively charged; the isoelectric point of a carrier can be adjusted by adjusting the ratio of three components; and when the mole ratio of polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether, thiocinamide and lysine is 1:0.3:0.7 (namely N.sub.4), the isoelectric point thereof is 7.04, the Nanomicelle can be negatively charged under the condition of pH 7.4, and charges on the surface of the micelle are transferred into positive charges under the condition of pH 6.5.

(22) When the mole ratio of polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether, thiocinamide and lysine is 1:0.3:0.7, the particle size of the Nanomicelle is relatively appropriate, and when pH is equal to 7.04, charge transfer is achieved. The micelle can be endowed with anti-protein adsorption and enhanced cell uptake property. Therefore, Nanomicelles mentioned in the following examples of the present invention refer to the Nanomicelle under this ratio unless otherwise specified.

EXAMPLE 4

(23) Anti-Protein Nonspecific Adsorption Property of Reversibly Crosslinked Redox-Sensitive Nanomicelle with Reversible Charges:

(24) The reversibly crosslinked redox-sensitive Nanomicelle (N.sub.4) with reversible charges obtained in the example 1 is put into a bovine serum albumin solution of which the concentration is 45 g/L, a particle size change of the Nanomicelle is tested by using a laser light scattering instrument within different periods, and the protein adsorption influence is observed. Consequently, as shown in FIG. 5, BSA in the figure is bovine serum albumin, the particle size of the Nanomicelle N.sub.4 is not greatly changed within an observation period of 24 hours, and it is shown that a negatively-charged Nanomicelle can effectively reject protein adsorption and can be stably circulated in a human body.

EXAMPLE 5

(25) Anti-Dilution Stability of a Reversibly Crosslinked Redox-Sensitive Nanomicelle with Reversible Charges:

(26) The reversibly crosslinked redox-sensitive Nanomicelle (N.sub.4, 0.5 mg/mL) with reversible charges obtained in the example 1 is diluted by 100 times by using ultra-pure water to make its concentration lower than the CMC value, and the particle size change of the Nanomicelle is tested by using a laser light scattering instrument. Consequently, as shown in FIG. 6, the particle size of the crosslinked Nanomicelle is reduced from 187 nm to 162 nm, which is consistent with a result obtained by a transmission electron microscope image. The crosslinked Nanomicelle is diluted to be the CMC value or below, it is discovered that the particle size and the distribution thereof are not greatly changed, and it is shown that the crosslinked Nanomicelle has strong anti-dilution stability and can be prevented from dissociation in case of dilution of a great amount of body fluid.

EXAMPLE 6

(27) Redox Sensitivity of Reversibly Crosslinked Redox-Sensitive Nanomicelle with Reversible Charges:

(28) The reversibly crosslinked redox-sensitive Nanomicelle (N.sub.4, 4 mL, 1 mg/mL) with reversible charges obtained in the example 1 is added into an acetone solution of pyrene, so that the concentration of the pyre is 5.010.sup.6 mol/L.; the Nanomicelle is incubated in a constant-temperature shaking incubator for 24 hours at the temperature of 30 C., and a GSH solution is added to make the GSH concentration reach 10 mol/L; and then within a specific time interval, an emission spectrum of the pyrene in the micelle solution is measured by utilizing a fluorescence spectrophotometer, an emission wavelength is 395 nm, and both an excitation slit width and an emission slit width are 5 nm. Consequently, as shown in FIG. 7, as time increases, the fluorescence intensity of the pyrene is gradually reduced, and it is shown that the pyrene enters a hydrophilic environment from a hydrophobic environment. The reason for this phenomenon is that a disulfide bond of a micelle core is broken under the action of GSH to destroy an original micelle structure so as to release the pyrene wrapped by the micelle.

EXAMPLE 7

(29) Biocompatibility of Reversibly Crosslinked Redox-Sensitive Nanomicelle with Reversible Charges:

(30) A reversibly crosslinked redox-sensitive Nanomicelle N.sub.4 with reversible charges obtained in the example 1 is taken as a research object. The cytotoxicity of a Nanomicelle is tested by using an MTT method. A cervical cancer cell (Hela cell) or mouse fibroblast (L929 cell) growing in a logarithmic phase is digested by trypsin (0.25%), blown and scattered by using a DMEM culture medium containing 10% fetal calf serum, diluted into a cell suspension of which the concentration is 1.010.sup.4 cells/mL by using the culture medium, inoculated to a 96-pore plate in 100 L per pore, cultured in a constant-temperature incubator for 24 h, and then added into 100 L of DMEM complete medium containing different polymer concentrations (5, 25, 50, 100, 250 and 500 g/mL) respectively after leaving from the culture medium. Each group is provided with six complex pores, culture is carried out for 24 hours, and then the culture medium is removed. Each pore is added with 20 L of MTT solution (5 mg/mL), culture is continuously carried out for 4 hours, and then the solution in the pore plate is removed. Each pore is added with 150 L of dimethyl sulfoxide, formazan generated from living cells is dissolved by shaking, absorbancy is measured by using an ELIASA at 570 nm, and the cell survival rate is calculated. Consequently, as shown in FIG. 8, the cell survival rates of cells L929 and Hela in Nanomicelle solutions with different concentrations are 90% or more, and it is shown that the Nanomicelle has excellent biocompatibility.