Polymers in Drug Delivery: Analyzing Beta-carotene Aggregation in Response to PEG-b-PLA

Synthetic polymers have quickly become ubiquitous in all aspects of modern society, from single-use plastics to medical treatment. This study focuses on the behavior of polymers in the medical context of drug delivery, which requires a highly controlled and targeted release of the therapeutic agent. However, current medical treatments such as anticancer drugs lack precision and lose effectiveness after entering the body. PEG-b-PLA is uniquely structured to have both hydrophilic and hydrophobic ends, which makes it capable of forming polymeric micelles. Beta-carotene, a lipophilic compound, was employed as a surrogate molecule to represent an anticancer drug. This study’s purpose was to study PEG-b-PLA in aqueous solutions with varying concentrations of Beta-carotene and sodium chloride to mimic a human drug delivery procedure. It was hypothesized that PEG-b-PLA would limit the aggregation of Beta-carotene to a constant size, regardless of the outside environment. For that purpose, this study created four mixtures, each with varying concentrations of DI water, Beta-carotene, sodium chloride, and PEG-b-PLA. Qualitative data was collected by using a laser beam to observe the aggregation of Beta-carotene in each mixture, and each mixture was analyzed in a dynamic light scattering (DLS) instrument to determine exact micelle sizes. It was determined that the addition of PEG-b-PLA significantly reduced the aggregation of Beta-carotene in an electrolyte solution, demonstrating the stabilizing role PEG-b-PLA plays in drug delivery. Recent innovations like smart polymers consist of molecules like PEG-b-PLA and have been shown to successfully transport medical drugs, potentially making highly targeted anticancer treatment a reality.