Department of Materials Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 6-3-1 Niijuku, Katsushika, Tokyo 125-8585, Japan.
ACS Biomater Sci Eng. 2024 Feb 12;10(2):897-904. doi: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.3c01554. Epub 2024 Jan 20.
Particle-cell interactions, such as cellular uptake, vary depending on the particle size, shape, and surface properties. By dynamic control of the physical properties of particles, microparticle-cell interactions can intentionally be altered. Particle degradability is also necessary for their application in the body. In this study, we aimed to prepare degradable core-corona-type particles that are deformed near the body temperature and investigated particle shape-dependent cellular uptake. Degradable and transformable particles consisting of poly(2-methylene-1,3-dioxepane)--poly(ethylene glycol) with three-armed poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) were prepared. The particle melting point was controlled by the chain length of the three-armed PCL. Particle degradation occurred under both acidic and alkaline conditions via ester group hydrolysis in the polymer backbones. The rod-shaped microparticles prepared by uniaxial stretching at a temperature above the melting point of the core showed less uptake into macrophages than did the spherical microparticles. Therefore, the degradable transformable particles enable macrophage interaction control via stimuli-regulated particle shapes and are expected to be applied as drug delivery carriers that can be decomposed and excreted from the body.
粒子-细胞相互作用，如细胞摄取，取决于粒子的大小、形状和表面特性。通过对粒子物理性质的动态控制，可以有目的地改变微粒-细胞相互作用。粒子的可降解性也是其在体内应用所必需的。在本研究中，我们旨在制备在体温附近变形的可降解核壳型粒子，并研究了粒子形状依赖性的细胞摄取。由聚(2-亚甲基-1,3-二恶烷)-聚(乙二醇)与三臂聚(ε-己内酯)(PCL)组成的可降解和可变形粒子。通过三臂 PCL 的链长控制粒子的熔点。聚合物骨架中的酯基水解导致粒子在酸性和碱性条件下发生降解。在高于核心熔点的温度下进行单轴拉伸制备的棒状微粒子进入巨噬细胞的摄取量低于球形微粒子。因此，可降解可变形粒子可通过刺激调节粒子形状来控制巨噬细胞相互作用，并有望作为药物载体应用，这些载体可从体内分解和排泄。
