Dendritic Boronic Acids for the Delivery of Diol-containing Drugs

Abstract

This thesis outlines the preparation of polymeric micelles between boronic acid-functionalized PEG-dendritic block copolymers and diol-containing drugs, as a promising strategy in drug delivery. Taking advantage of terminal azide groups for functionalization, PEG-GATG dendritic block copolymers with peripheral boronic acids were obtained via reductive amination with 2-formylphenylboronic. The ability of the resulting boronic acid-functionalized copolymers (PEG-[G3]-BO2H2) to encapsulate drugs incorporating 1,2- and 1,3-diols into micelles, via selective boronic ester formation, was assessed in aqueous media at pH 7.4. Gemcitabine, an anticancer drug was selected for a deeper study. After incorporation into micelles in the presence of catechol, the encapsulation efficiency and stability of the micelles were determined, and their toxicity profile studied.