vitro evaluation of cytotoxicity and cellular uptake of alternating copolymers for use as drug delivery vehicles

Cancer is the collective group of diseases distinguished by uninhibited growth and spread of abnormal cells. It often results in death if the spread is not controlled. Most cancers are treated by surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, hormones, or immunotherapy. However, currently there are many issues with these forms of treatment, namely the lack of ability to consistently remove the entire tumor and the side effect of killing normal cells during the treatment process. Therefore there has been an increased interest in targeted drug delivery to tumors to specifically kill cancer cells. We have developed a highly adaptable amphiphilic alternating copolymer system that self-assembles into micelles for therapeutic delivery applications in cancer. The synthetic scheme includes the enzymatic polymerization of multifunctional linker molecules (dimethyl 5-hydroxyisopthalate) with poly(ethylene glycol). This chemo-enzymatic synthesis is much faster and more convenient than an entirely chemical synthesis. Subsequent synthetic steps have been developed to attach ligands (for targeting), perfluorocarbons (19F MR imaging), fluorescent dyes (NIRF imaging), an