Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is an emerging cancer therapy modality that could deliver an immense gradient of radiation doses within cellular spatiality. While BNCT has resulted in a high response rate in several cancers, the major failure of BNCT is due to cancer recurrent after BNCT. One of the major challenges in BNCT is in developing effective boron drugs that can deliver a high concentration of boron-10 (20-50 µg/g of 10B per gram of tumor) and with high tumor specificity. To deliver a high 10B loading, our group has previously demonstrated excellent BNCT treatment efficacy using non-10B polymer-coated boron carbon oxynitride compared to the state of the art borophenylalanine ([10B)BPA] small molecule drug. However, the delivery of nanotherapeutics remains low due to the contrasting physicochemical requirement of the nanotherapeutics at different delivery stages. Herein, we will present the preparation of stimuli-responsive polymer-coated BCNO nanoparticles within a double hydrophilic block copolymer (DHBP) into controllable size at physiological pH. Upon arrival at the tumor microenvironment, the acid-labile self-assembled BCNO nanostructures disintegrated and released the positively charged BCNO nanoparticles. In this work, we will present the effect of DHBP mixing fraction, f+, and the effect of PEI sizes on the overall size and morphology of the final polymer@BCNO nanocomposites. This trojan-like nanoparticle first presents optimal characteristics for tumor accumulation and is later transformed into discrete, positively charged nanoparticles with improved diffusional and cell penetration properties.

Self-assembly of boron nanostructures within double hydrophilic block-copolymers (DHBP) for boron neutron capture therapy

Fall 2022 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch in mid-September.

ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.