Synthesis and characterization of amphiphilic block polymer poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(propylene carbonate)-poly(ethylene glycol) for drug delivery

Highlights: • A novel amphiphilic block polymer PEG-PPC-PEG was designed and synthesized. • Dox-loaded nanoparticles with core shell structure were fabricated via facile one-step assembly. • They exhibited the tumor microenvironment-responsive controlled release. • Nanoparticles have a certain effect on the controlled release of DOX. - Abstract: A novel amphiphilic block polymer poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(propylene carbonate)-poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG-PPC-PEG) was synthesized via the dicyclohexylcarbodiimide condensation reaction of double PEG-bis-amine and HOOC-PPC-COOH. The obtained copolymer was characterized by NMR to determine its structure. Using the PEG-PPC-PEG as the carrier and using doxorubicin (DOX) as a model drug, DOX-loaded nanoparticles with core shell structure were synthesized by self-assembly in water. The nanoparticles properties such as particle size, drug loading, encapsulation efficiency (EE) and drug release behavior were investigated as a function of the hydrophobic block length of PPC segments and compared with each other. The results showed that the EE was up to 88.8%. Nanoparticles were found to have a certain effect on the controlled release of DOX.