Insights into the Degradation of Polymer-Drug Conjugates by an Overexpressed Enzyme in Cancer Cells.

ABSTRACT: Intensive efforts have been made to provide better treatments to cancer patients. Currently, nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems have gained propulsion, as they can overcome the drawbacks of free drugs. However, drug stability inside the nanocapsule must be ensured to prevent burst release. To overcome this, drugs conjugated to amphiphilic copolymers, assembled into nanoparticles, can provide a sustained release if endogenously degraded. Thus, we have designed and assessed the drug release viability of polymer-drug conjugates by the human Carboxylesterase 2, for a targeted drug activation. We performed molecular dynamics simulations applying a quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics potential to study the degradation profiles of 30 designed conjugates, where six were predicted to be hyd

SUBMITTER: Figueiredo PR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9969400 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature