Redox-sensitive Block Copolymer Nanoparticle Preparation and Characterization

Portera, Mary Virginia (2016) Redox-sensitive Block Copolymer Nanoparticle Preparation and Characterization. Undergraduate thesis, under the direction of Seongbong Jo from Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery, University of Mississippi.

Preview

Text THESIS_correct.pdf Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

The purpose of the research conducted in this project was to add to a wealth of knowledge concerning chemotherapy. Although chemotherapy has been used since Paul Ehrlich’s discover of Salvarsan’s ability to kill Treponema pallidum (the bacterium that causes syphilis), today the term chemotherapy is mostly used in conjunction with cancer treatment. There have been many successful chemotherapy drugs produced throughout the years, but a constant problem with chemotherapy is the fact that it also affects noncancerous cells. The topic of this research investigated targeted drug delivery systems that incorporate paclitaxel, a hydrophobic chemotherapy drug. This research mainly focused on producing findings that work to stabilize drug delivery systems for paclitaxel while also allowing for its predictable release in a reduced environment that mimics a typical cancerous cell. The mixed micelle approach used Pluronic® poloxamers and redox-sensitive copolymers to create a drug delivery system that could interact with not only hydrophobic paclitaxel but also a hydrophilic aqueous environment that mimics the environment of a cancerous cell. The result of these redox-sensitive block copolymers is to produce an amphiphilic drug delivery system that will release paclitaxel upon interaction with a cancerous cell environment and not a healthy cell environment.

Actions (login required)

View Item