Published papers

Controlling the physical stability of noncrystalline active pharmaceutical ingredients remains a major challenge in the development of amorphous formulations such as amorphous solid-dispersion (ASD) formulations. To establish new evaluation and formulation strategies, the spatial distribution of the crystal phase in bulk amorphous nifedipine (NFD) was investigated as a model. The crystallization of amorphous NFD and the effect of a deliberately added impurity were investigated using powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), differential scanning calorimetry and real-time in situ X-ray micro-computed tomography (X-ray CT). The stability data of amorphous samples, i.e., NFD and a mixture of NFD with an oxidative degradation product of NFD, impurity A (Imp A), at a weight ratio of 90:10, presented as percent amorphous remaining, suggests that Imp A accelerates the bulk crystal growth of NFD. Real-time in situ X-ray CT results showed surface-enhanced crystal growth and cavity formation in solid NFD samples. Moreover, the crystals were heterogeneous in density. These results suggest that Imp A affects the physical stability of the amorphous NFD. X-ray CT equipped with a heating unit can aid in-situ evaluation and assessment of physicochemical properties and physical stability of amorphous samples and formulations.

© 2019 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim Stimuli-responsive smart materials are a key to the realization of next-generation medical technologies. Among them, the temperature-responsive polymer poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) is attracting particular attention because it is easy to use in physiological conditions. PNIPAAm-grafted surfaces can undergo temperature-modulated cell adhesion and detachment without proteolytic enzymes, and can be used as cell-separating materials through selective cell adhesion/detachment. However, cell detachment at reduced temperatures is problematic because it takes several hours. A novel thermoresponsive crosslinked microfiber system that can greatly reduce the cell detachment time is introduced in this study. The crosslinked fibers provide temperature-dependent volume change, and enable cell detachment within 10 min of reducing the temperature, which is one-sixth of the time required in previous studies. The prompt cell detachment is thought to arise from a completely new mechanism derived from fiber swelling. This system will make a significant contribution as a novel cell manipulating system for next-generation medical technology.

© 2019 Elsevier B.V. We developed a mixed polymer brush, which consists of temperature-responsive polymer and cationic polymer modified beads as functional chromatographic matrices, for temperature-modulated multiple hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions. The mixed polymer brush was modified on silica beads through the combination of reversible addition−fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization of N,N-dimethylaminopropyl acrylamide (DMAPAAm) and surface initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm). Zeta potential measurement of the mixed polymer brush revealed that the zeta potential increased with increasing temperature, which was attributed to the exposed PDMAPAAm on the beads arising from the shrinking of PNIPAAm upon increasing the temperature. The prepared beads were used as the packing material of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) columns, and the elution behavior of steroids, adenosine nucleotides, and proteins through the column was observed. The retention time of steroids increased with increasing the column temperature because of the dehydration of PNIPAAm in the mixed polymer brush. Adenosine nucleotides were also retained by the columns, which was attributed to the electrostatic interaction with PDMAPAAm in the mixed polymer brush. Several proteins were adsorbed on the column at elevated temperatures because of the enhanced electrostatic interaction of exposed PDMAPAAm and the enhanced hydrophobic interaction resulting from the dehydration of PNIPAAm. By exploiting this unique property, mixtures of proteins could be separated by simply changing the column temperature. These results indicate that the developed mixed polymer brush modified beads would be useful as functional chromatographic packing matrices for thermally-modulated multiple hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions.

© 2019, Japan Society of Drug Delivery System. All rights reserved. Recently, the theory of cancer stem cell (CSC) is gaining increasing attention from researchers and has become an important focus of cancer research. Since the discovery that the marker molecule is over-expressed in a variety of solid tumors, many studies have focused on methods for targeting the hyaluronan receptor CD44. Hyaluronic acid, the primary CD44 binding molecule, has proved a significant factor in developing nanocarriers that demonstrate preferential tumor accumulation and increased cell uptake. Research is frequently conducted to add further functions to nanocarriers targeting CD44. It is expected that more effective drug delivery will be possible by combining with existing technology. In this review, we introduce research approaches from the current literature that take advantage of CD44-targeting ability and describe the possible advantages for each approach. Finally, we describe our recent progress in hyaluronic acid-modified thermoresponsive liposome aiming for CD44-targeting and combined with oncothermia.

© 2019 The Author(s). Background: In most stem cell therapy strategies reported to date, stem cells are introduced to damaged tissue sites to repair and regenerate the original tissue structure and function. MSC therapeutic efficacies are inconsistent, largely attributed to transplanted MSC difficulties both in engrafting at tissue sites and in retaining their therapeutic functions from suspension formulations. MSC functional components, including cell adhesion and cell-cell junction proteins, and ECM that contribute to essential cellular therapeutic effects, are damaged or removed by proteolytic enzymes used in stem cell harvesting strategies from culture. To overcome these limitations, methods to harvest and transplant cells without disrupting critical stem cell functions are required. Cell sheet technology, exploiting temperature-responsive cell culture surfaces, permits cell harvest without cell protein damage. This study is focused on phenotypic traits of MSC sheets structurally and functionally to understand therapeutic benefits of cell sheets. Methods/results: This study verified cleaved cellular proteins (vinculin, fibronectin, laminin, integrin β-1, and connexin 43) and increased apoptotic cell death produced under standard trypsin harvesting treatment in a time-dependent manner. However, MSC sheets produced without trypsin using only temperature-controlled sheet harvest from culture plastic exhibited intact cellular structures. Also, MSCs harvested using enzymatic treatment (i.e., chemical disruption) showed higher pYAP expression compared to MSC sheets. Conclusion: Retention of cellular structures such as ECM, cell-cell junctions, and cell-ECM junctions is correlated with human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell (hUC-MSC) survival after detachment from cell culture surfaces. Retaining these proteins intact in MSC cultures using cell sheet technology is proposed to enhance stem cell survival and their function in stem cell-based therapy.

© 2019 Elsevier B.V. Cell separation methods that do not require surface modification of cells are needed in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. We developed thermoresponsive anionic polymer brushes for cell separation without modification of the cell surfaces. Copolymer brush poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-N-tert-butylacrylamide-co-tert-butyl acrylate, P(NIPAAm-co-tBAAm-co-tBA), was prepared on a cover glass plate through activator regenerated by electron transfer atom transfer radical polymerization (ARGET-ATRP). The tert-butyl group of the copolymer brush was then deprotected and a P(NIPAAm-co-tBAAm-co-acrylic acid (AAc)) brush-modified glass surface was obtained. ARGET-ATRP synthesis achieved polymers with low polydispersity. The negative surface charge of the polymer brush-modified substrates was evaluated using zeta potential measurements and the phase transition temperature of the polymer was modulated between 37–20 °C to perform cell adhesion and detachment, respectively. The adhesion and detachment behavior of cells used in cardiovascular tissue engineering on the thermoresponsive anionic polymer brushes was investigated. Normal human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) exhibited prompt detachment from the thermoresponsive anionic polymer brush surfaces. In addition, normal human aortic smooth muscle cells (SMC) exhibited relatively high adhesion on thermoresponsive anionic polymer brush-modified surfaces compared with those modified with thermoresponsive polymer brushes without anionic groups. By utilizing the difference in the cell adhesion and detachment properties of the cell types, a mixture of HUVEC and SMC was separated simply by altering the applied temperature. This result indicated that the prepared thermoresponsive anionic polymer brush-modified glass surface could be used as a tool for the separation of cells in cardiovascular tissue engineering.

© 2019 Elsevier B.V. We developed temperature-responsive mixed-mode columns packed with poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm)-modified beads and poly(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid) (PAMPS)-modified beads in various ratios. The PNIPAAm-modified silica beads and PAMPS-modified silica beads were prepared by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide and 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid, respectively. We confirmed polymer modification of the silica beads by CHN elemental analysis, FTIR, zeta-potential measurements, and SEM. To determine the column separation efficiency, we examined the elution behaviors of cold medicine active ingredients and monoamines from each column. Analyte separation occurred on columns with PNIPAAm to PAMPS ratios of 1:20 and 1:10, whereas a column containing only PNIPAAm-modified beads did not retain the analytes. The analytes were retained on the columns through hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions with PNIPAAm and PAMPS, respectively. The separation performance improved with increasing column temperature because of dehydration of PNIPAAm and enhancement of hydrophobic interactions at elevated temperatures. The mixed-mode columns will be useful for separating basic bioactive compounds because the retention of analytes can be modulated by changing the column temperature and the composition.

© 2019 Elsevier B.V. Liposomes composed of egg phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol were modified with the temperature-responsive polymer poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-N, N-dimethylacrylamide) (P(NIPAAm-co-DMAAm)), and exhibited reversible surface properties with temperature. Completely reversible liposome aggregation due to P(NIPAAm-co-DMAAm) hydration/dehydration was demonstrated over four successive cycles of heating and cooling. The P(NIPAAm-co-DMAAm) polymer was hydrated during cooling, which dispersed the liposomes. The rigidity of the liposomal membrane was one of the factors in the reversible aggregation, as was the modification density of the polymer on the liposomes. A low density on relatively rigid liposomes could maintain the polymer property of reversible hydrated layers below critical solution temperature (LCST) boundary. Above the LCST, temperature-responsive polymers could also transport negatively charged liposomes into cells. The reversible behavior of the temperature-responsive polymer-modified liposomes has not been reported previously and could enable new applications for switching deposit forms as alternative drug carriers.

© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) have been attracting significant attention owing to their gene silencing properties, which can be utilized to treat intractable diseases. In this study, two temperature-responsive liposomal siRNA carriers were prepared by modifying liposomes with different polymers—poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-N,N-dimethylaminopropyl acrylamide) (P(NIPAAm-co-DMAPAAm)) and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-N,N-dimethylacrylamide) P(NIPAAm-co-DMAAm). The phase transition of P(NIPAAm-co-DMAPAAm) was sharper than that of P(NIPAAm-co-DMAAm), which is attributed to the lower co-monomer content. The temperature dependent fixed aqueous layer thickness (FALT) of the prepared liposomes indicated that modifying liposomes with P(NIPAAm-co-DMAPAAm) led to a significant change in the thickness of the fixed aqueous monolayer between 37 ◦ C and 42 ◦ C; while P(NIPAAm-co-DMAAm) modification led to FALT changes over a broader temperature range. The temperature-responsive liposomes exhibited cellular uptake at 42 ◦ C, but were not taken up by cells at 37 ◦ C. This is likely because the thermoresponsive hydrophilic/hydrophobic changes at the liposome surface induced temperature-responsive cellular uptake. Additionally, siRNA transfection of cells for the prevention of luciferase and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression was modulated by external temperature changes. P(NIPAAm-co-DMAPAAm) modified liposomes in particular exhibited effective siRNA transfection properties with low cytotoxicity compared with P(NIPAAm-co-DMAAm) modified analogues. These results indicated that the prepared temperature-responsive liposomes could be used as effective siRNA carriers whose transfection properties can be modulated by temperature.

© 2018 Elsevier B.V. Recently, the importance of biopharmaceuticals in medical treatments has been increasing, and effective protein purification methods are strongly required for their production. In the present study, a temperature-responsive solid-phase extraction (SPE) column was developed for the purification of proteins without affecting their bioactivity. A temperature-responsive polymer hydrogel-modified stationary phase was prepared by coating aminopropyl silica beads (average diameter, 40–64 μm) with poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm)-based thermoresponsive hydrogels. n-Butyl methacrylate and acrylic acid were copolymerized with PNIPAAm as hydrophobic and anionic monomers, respectively. Using these temperature-responsive SPE columns, targeted proteins were retained on the thermoresponsive hydrogel at 40 °C through hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions. After the temperature was reduced from 40 °C to 4 °C, the retained proteins were successfully eluted from the column. Using the temperature-responsive SPE system, lysozyme was successfully separated from ovalbumin without any loss in bioactivity (99.7 ± 0.1%). Rituximab, a monoclonal antibody, was also purified from BSA or hybridoma cell culture medium using the prepared SPE column. Denaturation of rituximab was not observed in the rituximab fraction eluted from the SPE column. These results demonstrate that temperature-responsive polymer-based SPE can be applied in biomedical purifications, while maintaining the biological activity of the proteins.

© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1) is more highly expressed in cancer cells compared with normal cells. LAT1 targeting probes would therefore be a promising tool for cancer cell imaging. In this study, LAT1-targeting thermoresponsive fluorescent polymer probes based on poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-N,N-dimethylacrylamide) (P(NIPAAm-co-DMAAm)) were synthesized and their affinity for LAT1 was evaluated. The synthesized polymer probes interacted with LAT1 on HeLa cells, and inhibition of L-[3 H]-leucine, one of the substrates for LAT1 uptake, was investigated. L-Tyrosine-conjugated P(NIPAAm-co-DMAAm) inhibited the uptake of L-[3 H]-leucine, while P(NIPAAm-co-DMAAm) and L-phenylalanine-conjugated P(NIPAAm-co-DMAAm) did not. This result indicated that L-tyrosine-conjugated polymer has a high affinity for LAT1. The fluorescent polymer probes were prepared by modification of a terminal polymer group with fluorescein-5-maleimide (FL). Above the polymer transition temperature, cellular uptake of the polymer probes was observed because the polymers became hydrophobic, which enhanced the interaction with the cell membrane. Furthermore, quantitative analysis of the fluorescent probe using flow cytometry indicated that L-tyrosine-conjugated P(NIPAAm-co-DMAAm)-FL shows higher fluorescence intensity earlier than P(NIPAAm-co-DMAAm)-FL. The result suggested that cellular uptake was promoted by the LAT1 affinity site. The developed LAT1-targeting thermoresponsive fluorescent polymer probes are expected to be useful for cancer cell imaging.

© 2018 by the authors. We prepared thermoresponsive hydrogels by mixing poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) derivatives as the main chain components, octa arm polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a crosslinker, and the Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser (RGDS) peptides as cell adhesion units. Human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (hbmMSCs) were cultured on the hydrogels. The PNIPAAm gel prepared by the post crosslinking gelation method was revealed to be cytocompatible and showed temperature dependent changes in mechanical properties. Repeated changes in the swelling ratio of the PNIPAAm gel affected the shape of the hbmMSCs. With respect to both cytocompatibility and reversibility of changes in mechanical properties, the PNIPAAm gel system could be potentially useful for the analysis of cell mechanobiology.

© 2017 The Authors Thermoresponsive surfaces, prepared by grafting of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PIPAAm) or its copolymers, have been investigated for biomedical applications. Thermoresponsive cell culture dishes that show controlled cell adhesion and detachment following external temperature changes, represent a promising application of thermoresponsive surfaces. These dishes can be used to fabricate cell sheets, which are currently used as effective therapies for patients. Thermoresponsive microcarriers for large-scale cell cultivation have also been developed by taking advantage of the thermally modulated cell adhesion and detachment properties of thermoresponsive surfaces. Furthermore, thermoresponsive bioseparation systems using thermoresponsive surfaces for separating and purifying pharmaceutical proteins and therapeutic cells have been developed, with the separation systems able to maintain their activity and biological potency throughout the procedure. These applications of thermoresponsive surfaces have been improved with progress in preparation techniques of thermoresponsive surfaces, such as polymerization methods, and surface modification techniques. In the present review, the various types of PIPAAm-based thermoresponsive surfaces are summarized by describing their preparation methods, properties, and successful biomedical applications.