Polycaprolactone-based mimetic antimicrobial peptide copolymers vesicles as an effective drug-carrier for cancer therapy

Abstract

A novel series of amphiphilic mimicking antimicrobial peptide copolymers PCL16-b-Kn can assemble in water to form uniform vesicles. Transmission electron microscopy was used to observe the vesicular structure of the nanoparticles, and dynamic light scattering revealed their uniform size and narrow dispersion. Critical vesiculation concentrations were also tested, revealing that these vesicles can exist at low concentrations. Furthermore, in vitro and intracellular drug release of doxorubicin(DOX)-vesicles were conducted. These vesicles could encapsulate DOX and achieve efficient intracellular drug release. Overall, these copolymer vesicles exhibit potential application value as multifunctional drug-carrier systems with antibacterial capability in cancer therapy.