LC-MS/MS study of in vivo fate of hyaluronan polymeric micelles carrying doxorubicin.

A better understanding of in vivo behavior of nanocarriers is necessary for further improvement in their development. Here we present a novel approach, where both the matrix and the drug can be analyzed by LCMS/MS after one sample handling. The developed method was applied for the comparison of pharmacokinetic profile of free and encapsulated doxorubicin (DOX) in oleyl hyaluronan (HA-C18:1) polymeric micelles. The results indicated that nanocarriers were rapidly dissociated upon in vivo administration. Despite this fact, the administration of encapsulated DOX led to its longer circulation time and enhanced tumor targeting. This effect was not observed injecting blank HA-C18:1 micelles followed by unencapsulated DOX. Biodistribution studies and molecular weight estimation of the carrier matrix indicated relatively high stability of HA-C18:1 ester bond in bloodstream and complete elimination of the derivative within 72 h. The proposed methodology provides a novel strategy to elucidate the pharmacokinetic behavior of polysaccharide-based drug delivery systems.

In vivo monitoring of tumor distribution of hyaluronan polymeric micelles labeled or loaded with near-infrared fluorescence dye.

Development of delivery systems which allow real-time visual inspection of tumors is critical for effective therapy. Near-infrared (NIR) fluorophores have a great potential for such an application. To overcome NIR dyes short blood circulation time and increase tumor accumulation, a NIR dye, cypate, was associated with oleyl hyaluronan, which can self-assemble into polymeric aggregates. The cypate association with oleyl hyaluronan was performed either by a covalent linkage, or physical entrapment. The two systems were compared for tumor targeting and contrast enhancement using BALB/c mice bearing 4T1 breast cancer tumors. Independently on the way of cypate association, it took more than 24 h from intravenous administration to detect NIR signal in tumors and the tumors were clearly visualized for 2 following weeks without substrate reinjection. Covalently linked cypate generated 2-3 fold stronger fluorescence signal than physically loaded cypate. This study demonstrates the potential of HA matrix to be used as carrier of contrast agents for non-invasive long-term tumor visualization.

Selective in vitro anticancer effect of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles loaded in hyaluronan polymeric micelles.

Due to its native origin, excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability, hyaluronan (HA) represents an attractive polymer for superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION) coating. Herein, we report HA polymeric micelles encapsulating oleic acid coated SPIONs, having a hydrodynamic size of about 100 nm and SPION loading capacity of 1-2 wt %. The HA-SPION polymeric micelles were found to be selectively cytotoxic toward a number of human cancer cell lines, mainly those of colon adenocarcinoma (HT-29). The selective inhibition of cell growth was even observed when the SPION loaded HA polymeric micelles were incubated with a mixture of control and cancer cells. The selective in vitro inhibition could not be connected with an enhanced CD44 uptake or radical oxygen species formation and was rather connected with a different way of SPION intracellular release. While aggregated iron particles were visualized in control cells, nonaggregated solubilized iron oxide particles were detected in cancer cells. In vivo SPION accumulation in intramuscular tumor following an intravenous micelle administration was confirmed by magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and histological analysis. Having a suitable hydrodynamic size, high magnetic relaxivity, and being cancer specific and able to accumulate in vivo in tumors, SPION-loaded HA micelles represent a promising platform for theranostic applications.

Paclitaxel isomerisation in polymeric micelles based on hydrophobized hyaluronic acid.

Physical and chemical structure of paclitaxel (PTX) was studied after its incorporation into polymeric micelles made of hyaluronic acid (HA) (Mw=15 kDa) grafted with C6 or C18:1 acyl chains. PTX was physically incorporated into the micellar core by solvent evaporation technique. Maximum loading capacity for HAC6 and HAC18:1 was determined to be 2 and 14 wt.%, respectively. The loading efficiency was higher for HAC18:1 and reached 70%. Independently of the derivative, loaded HA micelles had spherical size of approximately 60-80 nm and demonstrated slow and sustained release of PTX in vitro. PTX largely changed its form from crystalline to amorphous after its incorporation into the micelle's interior. This transformation increased PTX sensitivity towards stressing conditions, mainly to UV light exposure, during which the structure of amorphous PTX isomerized and formed C3C11 bond within its structure. In vitro cytotoxicity assay revealed that polymeric micelles loaded with PTX isomer had higher cytotoxic effect to normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDF) and human colon carcinoma cells (HCT-116) than the same micelles loaded with non-isomerized PTX. Further observation indicated that PTX isomer influenced in different ways cell morphology and markers of cell cycle. Taken together, PTX isomer loaded in nanocarrier systems may have improved anticancer activity in vivo than pure PTX.

Rates of oxidative coupling of humic phenolic monomers catalyzed by a biomimetic iron-porphyrin.

A synthetic water-soluble meso-tetra(2,6-dichloro-3-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrinate of iron(lll) chloride (FeP) was used as biomimetic catalyst in the oxidative coupling of three monomeric phenols (catechol, caffeic, and p-coumaric acids), which are common constituents of natural humic substances. The extent of oxidation induced by the FeP catalyst in solutions of phenolic monomers was followed in the presence of an oxygen donor such as hydrogen peroxide or dissolved oxygen under daylight radiation. Both UV- and fluorescence-detected liquid chromatograms indicated that primary oxidation products had a larger electronic conjugation and molecular mass than the original phenols, thereby suggesting that the biomimetic oxidative catalysis produced covalently linked phenylene and oxyphenylene oligomers. However, the polyphenolic products were further oxidized in the progress of the catalytic reaction to possible undetectable aliphatic acids or even to complete mineralization. Rate constants describing the initial reaction period were larger for the catalyzed oxidation with hydrogen peroxide than those for the noncatalyzed control solutions under autoxidation or hydrogen peroxide treatment. However, the rate constants measured for the phenol solutions treated with just the FeP catalyst showed that the presence of dissolved oxygen and the action of the daylight radiation were sufficient to significantly increase the reaction rate in respect to control solutions. These results confirmed previous findings, showing that humic materials may undergo oxidative coupling catalyzed by metal-porphyrins in the presence of either an oxygen donor or, simply, dissolved molecular oxygen under daylight. The increase of molecular mass of natural humic and polyphenolic substances by this biomimetic technology may have useful applications in environmental chemistry.