Co-assembly of polymers and proteins has been regarded as a highly promising research approach for developing novel bio-hybrid materials. In particular, polymer-protein core-shell nanoparticles (CSNPs) have shown versatile applications in sensing, bioimaging, responsive biocatalysts, therapeutic systems, <i>etc</i>. In this study, pyridine-grafted functional polymers, poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP) and poly(caprolactone-graft-pyridine)-block-poly(caprolactone) [P(CL-g-Py)-b-PCL], were respectively employed to co-assemble with transferrin (Tf). The constructed spherical CSNPs were characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and circular dichroism (CD). Compared with Tf/P4VP CSNPs, Tf/P(CL-g-Py)-b-PCL CSNPs exhibited narrower size distribution and higher particle stability, which were used to load anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). The final particles showed an elevated ability in targeting transferrin receptor overexpressed cancer cells, demonstrating their potential application as a drug delivery vehicle.

Pyridine-grafted diblock copolymer and transferrin core-shell nanoparticle for targeted drug delivery

251st National Meeting (2016)

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