Polymeric micelles with π–π conjugated moiety on glycerol dendrimer as lipophilic segments for anticancer drug delivery

Polymeric micelles are important nanovehicles for anticancer drug delivery. The lipophilic segment in polymeric micelles is an important factor to affect the drug loading properties. In our previous work, we found that small molecules with pi-pi conjugated structures could be used to replace hydrophobic polymeric chains as lipophilic segments for anticancer drug delivery. Herein, we report a novel polymeric micelle with pi-pi conjugated cinnamate moiety on glycerol dendrimer as lipophilic segment, the modified dendritic segment was connected to poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) via click chemistry. The received amphiphiles self-assembled into micelles in aqueous medium. The properties of the polymeric micelles such as critical micelle concentration (CMC), mean size and morphology were investigated. Anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) was loaded in the polymeric micelles. The pi-pi interaction, drug release profile and in vitro anticancer efficiency of the DOX loaded micelles were studied. The results showed that the micelles with more cinnamate moieties exhibited a lower CMC. The drug loading content and release rate of the micelles increased with increasing generation of glycerol dendrimer. Strong pi-pi stacking interaction was detected between DOX and carriers. The DOX loaded polymeric micelles exhibited efficient anticancer activity in vitro.