Abstract
Dextran is widely exploited in medical products and as a component of drug-delivering nanoparticles (NPs). Here, we tested whether dextran can serve as the main substrate of NPs and form a stable backbone. We tested dextrans with several molecular masses under several synthesis conditions to optimize NP stability. The analysis of the obtained nanoparticles showed that dextran NPs that were synthesized from 70 kDa dextran with a 5% degree of oxidation of the polysaccharide chain and 50% substitution with dodecylamine formed a NP backbone composed of modified dextran subunits, the mean diameter of which in an aqueous environment was around 100 nm. Dextran NPs could be stored in a dry state and reassembled in water. Moreover, we found that different chemical moieties (e.g., drugs such as doxorubicin) can be attached to the dextran NPs via a pH-dependent bond that allows release of the drug with lowering pH. We conclude that dextran NPs are a promising nano drug carrier.
Highlights
When Pasteur isolated dextran [1] for the first time in 1861, he certainly did not expect that this simple structure, synthesized by bacteria polysaccharide, could find such wide applications in medicine
The discrepancy between the expected and obtained oxidation degrees was consistent with earlier reports [12], in which the authors explained that every molecule of periodate causes the formation of approximately 1.7 aldehyde groups
To verify whether the nuclear signal arose from doxorubicin that was already released from the NPs (i.e., Dox-NPs did not enter cell nuclei), we chemically reduced the bond between doxorubicin and NPs to make doxorubicin release impossible
Summary
When Pasteur isolated dextran [1] for the first time in 1861, he certainly did not expect that this simple structure, synthesized by bacteria polysaccharide, could find such wide applications in medicine. Dextran is a combination of glucose molecules, it is extensively used in the medical field, primarily as supplementary material that reduces blood viscosity and prevents the formation of blood clots [2]. Dextran has been applied in nanomedicine, a novel discipline that applies submicron particles for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes. Dextran is used as an alternative for PEGylation to avoid NP and opsonin interactions [4]. Dextran sulfates are used to form NPs via electrostatic interactions with chitosan amine groups [5]. Conjugates of dextran and poly(e-caprolactone) are another popular component of NPs, which are mostly used
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