Open AccessConstruction of a Phenylboronic Acid-Functionalized Nano-Prodrug for pH-Responsive Emodin Delivery and Antibacterial Activity
Author(s) -
Guodong Zheng,
Jiaojiao Zheng,
Le Xiao,
Tongyi Shang,
Yanjun Cai,
Yuwei Li,
Yiming Xu,
Xiaoming Chen,
Yun Liu,
Bin Yang
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
acs omega
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.779
H-Index - 40
ISSN - 2470-1343
DOI - 10.1021/acsomega.1c00606
Subject(s) - prodrug , phenylboronic acid , hela , chemistry , drug delivery , dynamic light scattering , mtt assay , emodin , combinatorial chemistry , nuclear chemistry , in vitro , nanoparticle , organic chemistry , chromatography , biochemistry , nanotechnology , materials science , catalysis
In this study, a pH-responsive nano-prodrug was fabricated by conjugating emodin to the PEGylated polyethyleneimine (mPEG-PEI) with acid-sensitive boronate ester bonds. 1 H NMR spectra results showed that emodin was effectively bonded to mPEG-PEI, and acid-sensitive assay further confirmed the formation of boronate ester bonds. The size and morphology of the nano-prodrug were ascertained through transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS), which showed that the prodrug has a sphere-like shape with hydrodynamic size around 102 nm at pH 7.4. Subsequently, a drug-release behavior assay was carried out to carefully investigate the acid-sensitive drug-delivery property of the prodrug. Moreover, in vitro cell viability assay confirmed the superior cytotoxic effect of the nano-prodrug against HeLa cells compared to free emodin. Furthermore, the antibacterial study showed that the nano-prodrug could inhibit the bacterial (both Gram-positive and Gram-negative) growth more effectively than free emodin. Overall, this study provides a promising paradigm of the multifunctional nano-prodrug for pH-responsive tumor therapy and antibacterial activity.