Preparation, co-assembling and interfacial crosslinking of photocurable and folate-conjugated amphiphilic block copolymers for controlled and targeted drug delivery: Smart armored nanocarriers

Novel pH-sensitive, biodegradable and biocompatible copolymers based on polycaprolactone poly(ethylene glycol) (PCL/PEG) were synthesized and further modified with folic acid and/or acryloyl chloride. The mixed polymeric micelles were formed by self-assembling of folated-copolymer and nonfolated-copolymer with different compositions via nanoprecipitation method. The solubilization of quercetin as anti-cancer drug by the mixed micelle with the optimized composition (folated/non-folated 20/80) was more efficient than those made of each one alone. Nanogels with different crosslinking density were produced in the presence of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as the crosslinker via a photochemical method. Interfacial crosslinking of acrylated groups were utilized to produce a core shell spherical nanoparticle to evaluate their in-vitro drug release and degradation rate. (C) 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.