Author: Regina Holm

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AUTHOR

Regina Holm

Influence of Riboflavin Targeting on Tumor Accumulation and Internalization of Peptostar Based Drug Delivery Systems.

Riboflavin carrier protein (RCP) and riboflavin transporters (RFVTs) have been reported to be highly overexpressed in various cancer cells. Hence, targeting RCP and RFVTs using riboflavin may enhance tumor accumulation and internalization of drug delivery systems. To test this hypothesis, butyl-based 3-arm peptostar polymers were synthesized consisting of a lysine core (10 units per arm) and a sarcosine shell (100 units per arm). The end groups of the arms and the core were successfully modified with riboflavin and the Cy-5.5 fluorescent dye, respectively. While in phosphate buffered saline the functionalized peptostars showed a bimodal behavior and formed supramolecular structures over tim…

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Site-specific DBCO modification of DEC205 antibody for polymer conjugation

The design of multifunctional polymer-based vectors, forming pDNA vaccines, offers great potential in cancer immune therapy. The transfection of dendritic immune cells (DCs) with tumour antigen-encoding pDNA leads to an activation of the immune system to combat tumour cells. In this work, we investigated the chemical attachment of DEC205 antibodies (aDEC205) as DC-targeting structures to polyplexes of P(Lys)-b-P(HPMA). The conjugation of a synthetic block copolymer and a biomacromolecule with various functionalities (aDEC205) requires bioorthogonal techniques to avoid side reactions. Click chemistry and in particular the strain-promoted alkyne-azide cycloaddition (SPAAC) can provide the req…

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Impact of Branching on the Solution Behavior and Serum Stability of Starlike Block Copolymers.

The size control of nanomedicines for tumor diagnosis and therapy is of high importance, since it enables or disables deep and sufficient tumor penetration. Amphiphilic star-shaped block copolypept(o)ides offer substantial promise to precisely adjust the hydrophobic core and the hydrophilic corona, independent of each other, and therefore simultaneously control the size dimension in the interesting size range from 10 to 30 nm. To gain access to core-shell structures of such sizes, 3-arm and 6-arm PeptoStars, based on poly(gamma-tert-butyloxycarbonyl-L-glutamate)-b-polysarcosine (pGlu(OtBu)-b-pSar), were prepared via controlled living ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of the corresponding N-…

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Evaluating chemical ligation techniques for the synthesis of block copolypeptides, polypeptoids and block copolypept(o)ides: a comparative study

In this work, we describe the synthesis of block copolypeptides, polypeptoids and block copolypept(o)ides by chemical ligation techniques. Polysarcosine (PSar), poly(N-e-trifluoroacetyl-L-lysine) (PLys(TFA)) and poly(γ-benzyl-L-glutamate) (PGlu(OBzl)) homopolymers of different polarities and end group functionalities but with similar average degrees of polymerization (Xn = 50 and 100) could be obtained by ring opening polymerization (ROP) of α-amino acid N-carboxyanhydrides (NCA) and postpolymerization modification reactions. In the next step, these polymers were applied to copper(I)-catalyzed azide–alkyne coupling (CuAAC), strain-promoted azide–alkyne coupling (SPAAC) and native chemical l…

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Investigation of α-amino acid N-carboxyanhydrides by X-ray diffraction for controlled ring-opening polymerization

Abstract The need for a scalable synthesis of not sequence defined polypeptides as biomaterials is met by the ring-opening polymerization of α-amino acid N-carboxyanhydrides (NCAs). Even though this polymerization technique appears straight forward, it holds pitfalls in terms of reproducibility and overall control over the polymerization conditions, which depends, beside choice of solvent or initiator, significantly on reagent purity. In addition, the synthesis of monomers can lead to the formation of racemic amino acids. Thus, in this work, we describe the benefits of highly pure monomers in order to control nucleophilic ring-opening polymerization NCAs. Hereby, monomer purity is investiga…

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Synthesis and Characterization of Stimuli-Responsive Star-Like Polypept(o)ides: Introducing Biodegradable PeptoStars

tar-like polymers are one of the smallest systems in the class of core crosslinked polymeric nanoparticles. This article reports on a versatile, straightforward synthesis of three-arm star-like polypept(o)ide (polysarcosine-block-polylysine) polymers, which are designed to be either stable or degradable at elevated levels of glutathione. Polypept(o)ides are a recently introduced class of polymers combining the stealth-like properties of the polypeptoid polysarcosine with the functionality of polypeptides, thus enabling the synthesis of materials completely based on endogenous amino acids. The star-like homo and block copolymers are synthesized by living nucleophilic ring opening polymerizat…

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Synthesis of Amphiphilic Block Copolypept(o)ides by Bifunctional Initiators: Making PeptoMicelles Redox Sensitive.

In this work, the synthesis of polypeptoid-block-polypeptide copolymers (block copolypept(o)ides) based on bifunctional initiators is described, which introduces a distinct chemical entity at the connection between both blocks. With a view towards redox-sensitive block copolypept(o)ides, a cystamine-based initiator was used to synthesize polysarcosine macroinitiators with degrees of polymerization (Xn) between 100 and 200 displaying monomodal molecular weight distributions and dispersities (Đ) around 1.1 as determined by size exclusion chromatography. Block copolypept(o)ides with a poly(γ-t-butyloxycarbonyl-L-glutamate) (PGlu(O(t) Bu)) block (Xn = 25 or 50) were synthesized by controlled N-…

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Tuning the pH-Switch of Supramolecular Polymer Carriers for siRNA to Physiologically Relevant pH

The preparation of histidine enriched dendritic peptide amphiphiles and their self-assembly into multicomponent pH-switchable supramolecular polymers is reported. Alternating histidine and phenylalanine peptide synthons allow the assembly/disassembly to be adjusted in a physiologically relevant range of pH 5.3-6.0. Coassembly of monomers equipped with dendritic tetraethylene glycol chains with monomers bearing peripheral primary amine groups leads to nanorods with a tunable cationic surface charge density. These surface functional supramolecular polycations are able to reversibly bind short interfering RNA (siRNA). The nanorod-like supramolecular polymers, their complexation with siRNA, and…

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Multifunctional Cationic PeptoStars as siRNA Carrier: Influence of Architecture and Histidine Modification on Knockdown Potential.

RNA interference provides enormous potential for the treatment of several diseases, including cancer. Nevertheless, successful therapies based on siRNA require overcoming various challenges, such as poor pharmacokinetic characteristics of the small RNA molecule and inefficient cytosolic accumulation. In this respect, the development of functional siRNA carrier systems is a major task in biomedical research. To provide such a desired system, the synthesis of 3-arm and 6-arm PeptoStars is aimed for. The different branched polypept(o)idic architectures share a stealth-like polysarcosine corona for efficient shielding and a multifunctional polylysine core, which can be independently varied in s…

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CCDC 1874607: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination

Related Article: Olga Schäfer, Dieter Schollmeyer, Alexander Birke, Regina Holm, Kerstin Johann, Christian Muhl, Christine Seidl, Benjamin Weber, Matthias Barz|2019|Tetrahedron Lett.|60|272|doi:10.1016/j.tetlet.2018.12.028

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CCDC 1874606: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination

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CCDC 1874603: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination

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CCDC 1874604: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination

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