Clinical Research Institute, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, China; Center for Cancer Biology and Innovative Therapeutics, Key Laboratory of Tumor Molecular Diagnosis and Individualized Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China.
Clinical Research Institute, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, China; Center for Cancer Biology and Innovative Therapeutics, Key Laboratory of Tumor Molecular Diagnosis and Individualized Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China; School of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
J Control Release. 2020 Jul 10;323:565-577. doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2020.04.039. Epub 2020 Apr 25.
Multi-arm star poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) polymers have a number of advantages over linear PEG polymers when used as carriers for drug delivery and controlled release. For instance, they have more terminals that can be modified to form multi-functional delivery systems with significantly increased drug loading. They can form micelles with higher stability and lower critical micelle concentration (CMC), which helps to improve the blood circulation and reduce the unfavorable burst drug release. Moreover, star PEG polymers can form three-dimensional hydrogels with controllable size and adjustable functions through cross-linking. Indeed, these unique advantages of star PEG polymers have promoted investigations on star PEG-based drug delivery systems. Herein, for the first time, we carefully reviewed the advances on the research and development of star PEG polymers, especially the 4-, 6- and 8-armed star PEG polymers, in delivery and controlled release of a series of bioactive agents, including both small molecules and biomacromolecules. Opportunities and challenges for successful translation of star PEG-based drug formulations into clinical use were also discussed.
多臂星形聚乙二醇（PEG）聚合物在用作药物传递和控制释放的载体时，比线性 PEG 聚合物具有许多优势。例如，它们具有更多的末端，可以被修饰形成具有显著增加的药物负载的多功能传递系统。它们可以形成具有更高稳定性和更低临界胶束浓度（CMC）的胶束，有助于改善血液循环并减少不利的突释药物释放。此外，星形 PEG 聚合物可以通过交联形成具有可控尺寸和可调功能的三维水凝胶。事实上，星形 PEG 聚合物的这些独特优势促进了基于星形 PEG 的药物传递系统的研究。在此，我们首次仔细综述了星形 PEG 聚合物在一系列生物活性物质（包括小分子和生物大分子）的传递和控制释放方面的研究和开发进展，特别是 4-、6-和 8-臂星形 PEG 聚合物。还讨论了将基于星形 PEG 的药物制剂成功转化为临床应用的机遇和挑战。
