Co-assembly of amphiphilic triblock copolymers with DNA-polymer targeting ligands in solution†

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 a_TS is high, the targeting ligands aggregate on the vesicle exterior, while at lower a_TS 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.