Effect of conjugation length on conjugated polymer-mediated intracellular protein delivery

IF 2.8 4区工程技术 Q2 POLYMER SCIENCE

Macromolecular Research Pub Date : 2025-02-03 DOI:10.1007/s13233-024-00360-9

Golam Sabbir Sarker, Carlos R. Romagosa, Joong Ho Moon

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Abstract

Conjugated polymers (CPs) are π-electron-conjugated intrinsic fluorescent materials exhibiting unique photophysical and biophysical properties useful in sensing, labeling, and cargo delivery. While the photophysical properties related to conjugation lengths are known, the effect of conjugation lengths on intracellular cargo delivery has not been investigated yet. This study examined the impact of varying conjugation lengths in poly(p-phenylene ethynylene)s (PPEs) on intracellular protein delivery by evaluating protein loading capacity, serum stability, cellular entry pathway, and the amounts of proteins delivered into a model cancer cell line. While the protein loading, hydrodynamic diameter, and surface charge of all PPEs/protein complexes were similar regardless of backbone conjugation lengths, a fully conjugated PPE with a conjugation length of ~ 12 showed the highest intracellular protein delivery than PPEs containing shorter conjugation length than 12. The relatively poor delivery efficiency of other PPEs with a conjugation length of 9 or less was due to poor PPE/protein complex stability in the presence of serum, suggesting the critical role of backbone hydrophobicity. These findings signify the importance of conjugated polymer’s conjugation length in protein delivery efficiency, providing valuable insights into the design criteria for CP-based nanocarriers.

Graphical abstract

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偶联长度对偶联聚合物介导的细胞内蛋白递送的影响

共轭聚合物（CPs）是一种π电子共轭本征荧光材料，具有独特的光物理和生物物理特性，可用于传感、标记和货物运输。虽然已知与共轭长度相关的光物理性质，但共轭长度对细胞内货物传递的影响尚未研究。本研究通过评估蛋白质负载能力、血清稳定性、细胞进入途径和传递到模型癌细胞的蛋白质量，研究了聚对苯乙烯（PPEs）中不同的偶联长度对细胞内蛋白质传递的影响。尽管所有PPE /蛋白复合物的蛋白质负载、水动力直径和表面电荷与主链共轭长度无关，但与短于12的PPE相比，偶联长度为12的全共轭PPE的细胞内蛋白质递送量最高。其他偶联长度为9或更短的PPE递送效率相对较差，这是由于PPE/蛋白复合物在血清存在下稳定性较差，提示主链疏水性起关键作用。这些发现表明了共轭聚合物的共轭长度对蛋白质递送效率的重要性，为基于cp的纳米载体的设计标准提供了有价值的见解。图形抽象

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来源期刊

Macromolecular Research 工程技术-高分子科学

CiteScore

4.70

自引率

8.30%

发文量

100

审稿时长

1.3 months

期刊介绍： Original research on all aspects of polymer science, engineering and technology, including nanotechnology Presents original research articles on all aspects of polymer science, engineering and technology Coverage extends to such topics as nanotechnology, biotechnology and information technology The English-language journal of the Polymer Society of Korea Macromolecular Research is a scientific journal published monthly by the Polymer Society of Korea. Macromolecular Research publishes original researches on all aspects of polymer science, engineering, and technology as well as new emerging technologies using polymeric materials including nanotechnology, biotechnology, and information technology in forms of Articles, Communications, Notes, Reviews, and Feature articles.