E.L. Sahkulubey Kahveci, M.U. Kahveci, A. Celebi, T. Avsar, S.

Biomacromolecules 23(11) (2022) 4896-4908.

A novel amphiphilic block copolymer, P(MAG-co-HEMA)-b-PBAE, with active cancer cell targeting potential and pH responsivity was developed. The micelles obtained from the block copolymer exhibited a sharp protonated/deprotonated transition on tertiary amine groups around pH 6.75 and the pH-specific release of anticancer drug (Doxorubicin) below this value. The drug delivery potential was shown on both the noncancerous human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) cell line and glioblastoma (brain cancer) cell line, U87-MG. While the DOX-loaded polymeric micelles were not toxic in noncancerous HUVEC cells, being toxic only to the cancer cells indicates that it is a potential specific cell targeting strategy in the treatment of cancer.