{"title":"Co-assembly of amphiphilic triblock copolymers with DNA-polymer targeting ligands in solution.","authors":"Junwei Zhou, Menghan Zou, Xiandeng Qiu, Rong Wang","doi":"10.1039/d5sm00107b","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The development of targeted drug delivery systems is highly valued, which not only improves the therapeutic effect of drugs, but also reduces the amount of drugs used and reduces side effects. By taking advantage of the excellent affinity and specificity of nucleic acid aptamers and co-assembly of targeting ligands with polymers, we used dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations to explore the co-assembly behavior of amphiphilic ABA triblock copolymers and DNA-polymer targeting ligands in dilute solutions. By adjusting interaction parameters and concentrations of various components, we observed the formation of different targeting polymer nanostructures, such as targeting polymeric vesicles, sphere-like micelles, and disk-like micelles. The results show that the inclusion of targeting ligands prolongs the formation time of polymeric vesicles, and by modulating the interactions between DNA beads with hydrophilic beads and solvent beads, the localization of targeting ligands within the vesicles can be precisely controlled. When the interactions between DNA beads with hydrophilic beads <i>a</i><sub>TS</sub> is high, the targeting ligands aggregate on the vesicle exterior, while at lower <i>a</i><sub>TS</sub> values, they are uniformly distributed inside the vesicles. Additionally, the polymer and targeting ligand concentrations will influence the morphology of the aggregates, transitioning from sphere-like micelles to disk-like micelles and eventually to vesicles, including the mixture of multiple aggregate types under certain conditions. The findings provide theoretical support for the development of multi-targeted polymeric vesicles, advancing the field of precision therapy.</p>","PeriodicalId":103,"journal":{"name":"Soft Matter","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Soft Matter","FirstCategoryId":"92","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1039/d5sm00107b","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, PHYSICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The development of targeted drug delivery systems is highly valued, which not only improves the therapeutic effect of drugs, but also reduces the amount of drugs used and reduces side effects. By taking advantage of the excellent affinity and specificity of nucleic acid aptamers and co-assembly of targeting ligands with polymers, we used dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations to explore the co-assembly behavior of amphiphilic ABA triblock copolymers and DNA-polymer targeting ligands in dilute solutions. By adjusting interaction parameters and concentrations of various components, we observed the formation of different targeting polymer nanostructures, such as targeting polymeric vesicles, sphere-like micelles, and disk-like micelles. The results show that the inclusion of targeting ligands prolongs the formation time of polymeric vesicles, and by modulating the interactions between DNA beads with hydrophilic beads and solvent beads, the localization of targeting ligands within the vesicles can be precisely controlled. When the interactions between DNA beads with hydrophilic beads aTS is high, the targeting ligands aggregate on the vesicle exterior, while at lower aTS values, they are uniformly distributed inside the vesicles. Additionally, the polymer and targeting ligand concentrations will influence the morphology of the aggregates, transitioning from sphere-like micelles to disk-like micelles and eventually to vesicles, including the mixture of multiple aggregate types under certain conditions. The findings provide theoretical support for the development of multi-targeted polymeric vesicles, advancing the field of precision therapy.
期刊介绍:
Soft Matter is an international journal published by the Royal Society of Chemistry using Engineering-Materials Science: A Synthesis as its research focus. It publishes original research articles, review articles, and synthesis articles related to this field, reporting the latest discoveries in the relevant theoretical, practical, and applied disciplines in a timely manner, and aims to promote the rapid exchange of scientific information in this subject area. The journal is an open access journal. The journal is an open access journal and has not been placed on the alert list in the last three years.