Selective Uptake of a Fructose Glycopolymer Prepared by RAFT Polymerization into Human Breast Cancer Cells

A new methacrylic fructose glycomonomer is synthesized and copolymerized with N-isopropyl acrylamide by reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. By additional copolymerization of the analog mannose, glucose, and galactose glycomonomers, a set of glycopolymers is obtained which vary in the type of sugar attached to the polyacrylamide backbone. The glycopolymers are subsequently deprotected and characterized by size exclusion chromatography, FT-IR and NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, as well as turbidimetry, revealing the thermoresponsive character of all synthesized glycopolymers. The deprotected glycopolymers are subsequently labeled with a Rhodamine B derivative, utilizing the thiol-functionalities derived from the RAFT end-groups. As concluded from the ArlamaBlue assay, the glycopolymers are not cytotoxic. Finally, cellular uptake studies reveal a higher uptake of the fructose polymer into MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells compared to the other glycopolymers, which demonstrates the high potential of fructosylated polymers for potential applications in the targeted treatment of breast cancer.