Polymers, as inert drug carriers, offer the possibility of effectively directing drugs to malignant cells by exploiting a tumor's leaky neovasculature induced through angiogenesis. Chemotherapy treatments that otherwise lack tumor specificity have limited efficiency and often negative side effects. Tumor-associate macrophages (TAMs) are known to accumulate in tumor's low oxygen supply regions and also present mannose-specific receptors. Thus, a glycopolymer carrier that directly targets these receptors would greatly improve a chemotherapeutic's delivery. Homopolymers poly(2-(�-D-glucosyloxy)ethyl methacrylate) (pGlucHEMA) and poly(2-(a-D-mannosyloxy) ethyl methacrylate) (pMannHEMA) were synthesized using both free radical and the reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization techniques. Free mannose and pGlucHEMA did not result in aggregation of the lectin concanavalin A (ConA), as measured by optical density (Figure 1). In contrast, pendant mannose units of pMannHEMA were successfully recognized by ConA and the polymer's multivalency resulted in the formation of aggregates. Drug delivery carriers comprised of pMannHEMA have the potential for receptor recognition. By developing effectively cell-recognized glycopolymers, we propose a potent shepherding approach for chemotherapy drugs to further enhance our ability to target and treat malignant tumors.Figure 1. Time course of optical density at 420 nm of pMannHEMA (left, green), free mannose (left, blue), and pGlucHEMA (right, red).

Recognition of mannose- and glucose-derived polymers

245th National Meeting (2013)

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