Helena Henke
Johannes Kepler University Linz
Helena Henke studied chemistry at the University of Vienna (Austria) with a diploma thesis on metal complexes as anticancer agents in the group of Bernhard Keppler and graduated with a Mag. rer. nat. in 2011. Her PhD studies brought her to the Johannes Kepler University Linz (Austria) where she recently completed her PhD on the synthesis of polyphosphazenes with controlled dimensions and unique architectures and their application as nanomedicines under the guidance of Ian Teasdale. She is currently working as a Postdoc at the Johannes Kepler University on polyphosphazenes for medical applications such as tissue engineering.
Poly(organo)phosphazenes, inorganic/organic hybrid polymers with a backbone of alternating phosphorus and nitrogen atoms, offer unique and highly tunable characteristics due to the vast range of applicable organic... [ view full abstract ]
Poly(organo)phosphazenes, inorganic/organic hybrid polymers with a backbone of alternating phosphorus and nitrogen atoms, offer unique and highly tunable characteristics due to the vast range of applicable organic substituents.[1] In this contribution the synthesis of poly(organo)phosphazenes as well as their application in drug delivery will be presented. Phosphine-mediated living cationic polymerization of Cl3PNSi(CH3)3 yields polymers with controlled dimensions and unique architectures, from bottlebrush polymers to star dendritic molecular brushes, densely branched macromolecules with hydrodynamic diameters between 10 and 70 nm and up to 30 000 end-groups.[2] Their controlled molecular weights, narrow polydispersity and excellent aqueous solubility in combination with proven biocompatibility, controlled degradability and degradation to benign small molecules, make these polymers first-class candidates for biomedical applications, in particular polymer therapeutics.[1] Organometallic prodrugs are coupled with these polymers resulting in macromolecular prodrugs, to promote their cellular uptake via endocytosis and facilitate the intracellular release of established organometallic anticancer drugs. Biological investigations into macromolecular Pt(IV)-prodrugs show a ~30-fold increase in cell uptake and an improved cytotoxicity compared to the small drug molecules and the ability to overcome acquired platinum resistance in vitro, as well as improved tumor shrinkage compared to the unbound Pt(IV) prodrug in vivo.[3]
Acknowledgement
The authors acknowledge financial support of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), P24659-N28.
References
[1] H. Henke, et al., Macromol. Rapid Commun., 2017, 10.1002/marc.201600644
[2] H. Henke, et al., Macromol. Rapid Commun., 2016, 37, 769, 10.1002/marc.201600057
[3] H. Henke, et al., Macromol Biosci., 2016, 16, 1239, 10.1002/mabi.201600035
P - Materials science: polymers, thin films, nanopowders, ceramics, crystals, composites e , P - Bioinorganic chemistry and application in medicine
