Novel Poly(Ethylene Oxide)-b-Poly(Propylene Oxide) Copolymer-Glucose Conjugate by the Microwave-Assisted Ring Opening of a Sugar Lactone

In this work, we investigated for the first time the conjugation of gluconolactone to a poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide) block copolymer by a microwave-assisted ring opening reaction. The glucosylated copolymer was obtained with high yield (90%). A conjugation extent of approximately 100% was achieved within 15 min. The modification reduced the critical micellar concentration and increased the size of the micelles. The agglutination of the modified polymeric micelles by a soluble lectin that binds glucose confirmed the recognizability of the modified nanocarrier. Finally, the solubilization of darunavir, an anti-HIV protease inhibitor, showed a sharp increase of the aqueous solubility from 91 microgram/mL to 14.2 and 18.9 mg/mL for 10% w/v pristine and glucosylated polymeric micelles, respectively.