Polymersomes closely mimicking liposomes appear to be one of the most promising systems to achieve targeted tumor therapy. Compared with liposomes, polymersomes are usually intrinsically stealthed by poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), easy to be functionalized with specific ligands, and amenable to facile engineering with stimuli-responsivity. It should be noted, however, that most reported polymersomes exhibit a low loading of cargos, inadequate stability, pronounced drug leakage, and poor degradability or biocompatibility. In the past years, we have developed several novel, robust and bioresponsive polymersomes for targeted tumor therapy. For example, based on proprietary dithiolane-functionalized trimethylene carbonate (DTC) monomer, we have prepared reversibly crosslinked polymersomes that show efficient loading and targeted delivery of doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) and epirubicin hydrochloride (EPI) to various tumor models including melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer, outperforming clinically used liposomal doxorubicin injections. We have designed a series of disulfide-crosslinked degradable chimaeric polymersomes for tumor-targeted delivery of methotrexate disodium, a clinically used water soluble and potent anticancer drug, as well as biotherapeutics such as siRNA and protein drugs. These multifunctional and simple polymersomes have a tremendous potential for clinical translation.

Bioresponsive polymersomes as an emerging platform for targeted tumor therapy

2019 Fall National Meeting

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