Work

Drug-Integrating Amphiphilic Nano-Assemblies: 3. PEG-PPS/Palmitate Nanomicelles for Sustained and Localized Delivery of Dexamethasone in Cell and Tissue Transplantations

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Background: Glucocorticoids are an important class of therapeutics used in a variety of applications, including allotransplantations. Dexamethasone (Dexa) is well-known for its strong anti-inflammatory, immunosuppressive, and anticancer properties. However, its clinical use is often limited by its poor water solubility, poor pharmacokinetics, and high likelihood of systemic side effects. Methods: To address the issues, we tested a combined strategy where our original Drug-Integrating Amphiphilic Nano-Assemblies (DIANAs), a class of self-assembling polymeric nanoparticles designed for controlled drug release, were used to solubilize and deliver dexamethasone palmitate (DexP), a hydrophobic prodrug of dexamethasone. Results: The palmitate chains of the prodrug can form strong van der Waals interactions with the hydrophobic moieties of the PEG-PPS block copolymer used here. In water, this resulted in the self-assembling of stable dexamethasone palmitate–PEG–PPS nanomicelles, termed DexP-nMICs, with a 25 nm average diameter that slowly released Dexa over more than two weeks. Conclusions: Here we demonstrated that DexP-nMICs can carry elevated amounts of Dexa—increasing its solubility in water—prolong circulation in its pharmacologically active form in vivo and provide passive targeting to inflammation sites. The anti-inflammatory efficacy of DexP-nMICs was first confirmed in vitro on stimulated macrophages, demonstrating a significant reduction in cytokine secretion. An allogeneic mouse skin transplant model, used to assess the therapeutic potential of DexP-nMICs in vivo, confirmed its ability to provide graft-targeted delivery and prolong graft survival as compared to the unformulated parent drug. Therefore, DexP-nMICs are a promising candidate for sustained and localized use of anti-inflammatory drugs in cell and tissue transplantations.

Source: Pharmaceutics

DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics17101337

Authors: Giulio Palummieri, Saeida Saadat, Sung-Ting Chuang, Peter Buchwald, Diana Velluto

Institution: University of Miami

Language: English

Topic: Nanoparticle-Based Drug Delivery

Subfield: Biomaterials

Field: Materials Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,499