Smart Fluorescent Labeling of Enzyme Responsive Micellar Nanocarriers

Marina Buzhor, School of Chemistry, Tel Aviv University, Tel aviv, Israel
Einat Tirosh, School of Chemistry, Tel Aviv University, Tel aviv, Israel
Merav Segal , School of Chemistry, Tel Aviv University, Tel aviv, Israel
Natalya Weber, School of Chemistry, Tel Aviv University, Tel aviv, Israel
Roey J. Amir, School of Chemistry, Tel Aviv University, Tel aviv, Israel

The self-assembly of stimuli-responsive amphiphilic block copolymers into nano-sized micelles in aqueous media and their triggered disassembly have been widely investigated in recent years, due to their potential applications as drug delivery vehicles. Recently, we showed a modular and simple methodology to make stimuli-responsive systems composed of enzyme-responsive PEG-Dendron hybrids that form micellar structures in water and disassemble upon enzymatic stimuli. Here we present the development and study of novel fluorescently labeled amphiphilic hybrids that self-assemble into polymeric nano-sized labeled micelles. The fluorescence properties of the labeled polymers change upon enzymatic activation and hence the enzymatically-triggered disassembly can be monitored by fluorescence spectroscopy. Utilization of the same molecular design with incorporation of different dyes resulted in a very unique spectrophotometric outcomes dependent on the nature of the dye. These highly modular labeled amphiphilic hybrids and their fluorescent responses could potentially be used for the development of sensitive and controlled theranostic systems in the future.