Amphipathic Au-sulfur-poly (ethylene glycol)-b-poly (butylene succinate) system prepared by interfacial reaction as in-silico photosensitizer and antineoplastic carrier

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are widely studied in vitro and in vivo, especially for targeted drug delivery. These drug delivery systems can be engineered, leading to amphipathic characteristics, increasing the circulation time and the number of lipophilic drugs that can be entrapped in these systems. This work presents gold nanoparticles modified with a Thiol - poly (ethylene glycol)-b-poly (butylene succinate), Au-S-PEG-PBS, copolymer. Several tests, such as Scanning Electron Microscope, Transmission Electron Microscope, Dynamic Light Scattering, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy were performed. The Dynamic Light Scattering allowed inferring that the AuNPs possess an average diameter of 28 nm. In turn, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the success of surface modification. To the best of our knowledge, this material and this synthetic route have never been reported by scientific literature. Besides, molecular docking studies between a model of the presented macromolecule associated with perillyl alcohol and zinc phthalocyanine proved that both drugs have a thermodynamic affinity with the PBS block of the copolymer, allowing the formation of combined drug delivery systems able to open new perspectives for the cancer treatment.

Automated summary

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are extensively studied for targeted drug delivery, with a newly developed material in this study showing successful surface modification, potentially opening up new possibilities for cancer treatment.