Charged Hyper-branched Cyclodextrin-based polymers for different biological applications

Authors: Monfared, Y.K and Matencio, A. University of Turin.

Recently, prof. Francesco Trotta group of the University of Turin has published two studies where two different charged (anionic and cationic) Hyper-Branched Cyclodextrin-based polymers have been used for blood anticoagulation and pDNA transfection, respectively [1,2].

1. In the first one and using a previously published material [3], the research group studied the polymer’s intrinsic capacity to chelate calcium, using this as an anticoagulant agent [1]. The synthesized material (using Pyromellitic anhydride, called HBCD-Pol in the paper) presented an anionic charge that can form a chelate. Although the chelation strength was lower than EDTA, the effect on coagulation was higher in comparison. This anticoagulation effect was studied in vitro and in vivo, giving the same profile, possibly due to the complexation of additional factors of the coagulation pathway.
2. Additionally, a cationic hyper-branched polymer (using choline as a cationic unit, called Ppolly in the paper) was an excellent transfection promoter of plasmid in 2D and 3D cell cultures compared to lipofectamine. The material was tested for the first time in a biological application without relevant cytotoxicity.

Remarkably, these works open an interesting range of bioapplications with charged cyclodextrin polymers. They are not only able to complex biomolecules or macromolecules, but also to get intrinsic bioactivity.

[1] Monfared, Y. K., Mahmoudian, M., Hoti, G., Bisericaru, D. M., Caldera, F., Cavalli, R., … & Trotta, F. (2022). Hyper-Branched Cyclodextrin-Based Polymers as Anticoagulant Agents: In Vitro and In Vivo Studies. Bioengineering, 9(12), 765.

[2] Monfared, Y. K., Mahmoudian, M., Cecone, C., Caldera, F., Haiaty, S., Heidari, H. R., … & Trotta, F. (2022). Hyper-Branched Cationic Cyclodextrin Polymers for Improving Plasmid Transfection in 2D and 3D Spheroid Cells. Pharmaceutics, 14(12), 2690.

[3] Trotta, F., Caldera, F., Cavalli, R., Mele, A., Punta, C., Melone, L., … & Scalarone, D. (2014). Synthesis and characterization of a hyper-branched water-soluble β-cyclodextrin polymer. Beilstein journal of organic chemistry, 10(1), 2586-2593.