Design of GSH-triggered disintegrable dendritic polyurethane as bioreducible unimolecular micelles for tumor-specific chemotherapeutic drug delivery

Unimolecular micelles have attracted intensely attention as drug delivery systems (DDSs) in tumor chemotherapy owing to their superior stability. However, their drug release performance is mainly determined by the hydrophilic-hydrophobic property of their cores, in which the chemotherapeutic drugs were loaded. Here, GSHtriggered disintegrable dendritic polyurethane was designed via a facile one-pot approach, with disulfidecontaining diisocyanate. After PEGylation, it self-assembled into bioreducible unimolecular micelles with highly hydrophobic cores for chemotherapeutics-loading, showing a minimized premature drug leakage during blood circulation. After tumor cellular internalization, the GSH-triggered disintegration of the dendritic polyurethane-based cores in the unimolecular micelles occurred to release the loaded model drug (DOX), possessing tumor-specific chemotherapy with an enhanced tumor growth inhibition than free DOX.

Automated summary

Unimolecular micelles, as drug delivery systems, have attracted attention due to their stability. By designing GSH-triggered disintegrable dendritic polyurethane, drug leakage during circulation can be minimized and tumor-specific chemotherapy can be achieved.