Rationally designed curcumin laden glycopolymeric nanoparticles: Implications on cellular uptake and anticancer efficacy

Overexpression of glucose transport proteins (GLUTs) plays a pivotal role in the survival of cancer cells. Hence, targeting GLUTs receptors using glucose-based polymers can fill up the lacuna of cancer treatment by confining the dissemination and accumulation of chemotherapeutic drugs on cancer cells. The present study addressed the preparation of glycohomopolymer (PMG), PEG-based di- (PEG-b-PMG) and tri-block (PMG-b-PEG-b-PMG) polymers using atom transfer radical polymerization and their potential in the development of novel nanoparticulate drug delivery system. Curcumin-loaded glycopolymer nanoparticles were fabricated by nanoprecipitation method and investigated for various physicochemical parameters such as particle size, zeta potential, polydispersity index, drug loading, morphology, and dissolution profile. Homoglycopolymer nanoparticles exhibited lower average particle size (240.16 ± 21.41 nm), higher zeta potential (?28.72 ± 4.25 mV), and entrapment efficiency (74.61 ± 5.03%) compared to their block copolymer counterparts. Optimized formulation exhibited diffusion and dissolution-controlled drug release behavior. In vitro cell line studies demonstrated significantly superior cytotoxicity, clonogenic inhibitory and cellular uptake potential in MCF-7 cells besides receptor recognizing property of optimized curcumin nanoparticulate formulation compared to free curcumin. These findings elucidate that curcumin homoglucopyranoside nanocarriers can be a promising drug delivery option for effective management of breast cancer. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48954.