Polymeric micelles for acyclovir drug delivery

Polymeric prodrug micelles for delivery of acyclovir (ACV) were synthesized. First, ACV was used directly to initiate ring-opening polymerization of epsilon-caprolactone to form ACV-polycaprolactone (ACV-PCL). Through conjugation of hydrophobic ACV-PCL with hydrophilic methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) (MPEG) or chitosan, polymeric micelles for drug delivery were formed. H-1 NMR, FTIR, and gel permeation chromatography were employed to show successful conjugation of MPEG or chitosan to hydrophobic ACV-PCL. Through dynamic light scattering, zeta potential analysis, transmission electron microscopy, and critical micelle concentration (CMC), the synthesized ACV-tagged polymeric micelles were characterized. It was found that the average size of the polymeric micelles was under 200 nm and the CMCs of ACV-PCL-MPEG and ACV-PCL-chitosan were 2.0 mg L-1 and 6.6 mg L-1, respectively. The drug release kinetics of ACV was investigated and cytotoxicity assay demonstrates that ACV-tagged polymeric micelles were non-toxic. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.