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Nanogels comprising reduction-cleavable polymers for glutathione-induced intracellular curcumin delivery

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Abstract

In this study, we prepared nanogels of a disulfide-cleavable polymer via polyionic complexation and genipin cross-linking and evaluated their reduction-triggered intracellular curcumin (Cur) delivery. These nanogels were stable at physiological conditions due to the formation of genipin cross-linking and helical PLL/PDC complexes and would swell/dissociate at acidic and reductive conditions due to the dissociation of PLL/PDC complexes and cleaving of disulfide bonds. The cellular uptake and intracellular release of Cur-loaded nanogels were demonstrated by tracking the fluorescent Cur and in vitro drug release studies, confirming the triggered release of Cur at acidic and reductive microenvironments in cells. The MTT, TUNEL staining, and Caspase-3 activity assays showed that the Cur-loaded nanogels exhibited higher cellular proliferation inhibition toward U-87 MG cells than free Cur, whereas the blank nanogels exhibited low cytoxicity. The results highlight the potential of functional nanogels prepared by polyionic complexation and cross-linking as a smart nanocarrier for drug delivery.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Miao-Er Chien for her support on the experiments and the funding supports from Ministry of Science and Technology Taiwan (MOST 104-2811-E-006-243 and 105-2221-E-006-248) and Show Chwan Memorial Hospital.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, University Rd, Tainan, Taiwan, 701

    Pei-Yuan Lee, Ho-Yi Tuan-Mu & Jin-Jia Hu

  2. Orthopedic Department, Show Chwan Memorial Hospital, No. 6 Lugong Road, Changhua, Taiwan, 505

    Pei-Yuan Lee

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, University Rd, Tainan, Taiwan, 701

    Li-Wen Hsiao & Jeng-Shiung Jan

  4. Medical Device Innovation Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan, 701

    Jin-Jia Hu

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  1. Pei-Yuan Lee
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Correspondence to Jin-Jia Hu or Jeng-Shiung Jan.

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Lee, PY., Tuan-Mu, HY., Hsiao, LW. et al. Nanogels comprising reduction-cleavable polymers for glutathione-induced intracellular curcumin delivery. J Polym Res 24, 66 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-017-1207-6

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