Amphiphilic polymers based on polyoxazoline as relevant nanovectors for photodynamic therapy

An amphiphilic polymer (CmPOX) based on poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline) linked to a hydrophobic part composed of an aliphatic chain ending with a photo-active coumarin group has been synthesized. It exhibits the ability of forming small polymeric self-assemblies, typically of ca. 10 nm in size, which were characterized by TEM, cryo-TEM and DLS. The nanocarriers were further formulated to yield photo-crosslinked systems by dimerization of coumarin units of coumarin-functionalized poly(methyl methacrylate) (CmPMMA) and CmPOX. The formed vectors were used to encapsulate Pheophorbide a, a known photosensitizer for photodynamic therapy. Cytotoxicity as well as phototoxicity experiments performed in vitro on human tumor cells revealed the great potential of these nanovectors for photodynamic therapy. Coumarin crosslinked polyoxazoline-based vectors developed for efficient photodynamic therapy.