A series of ABC triblock poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)75-block-poly(L-lysine)35-block-poly(L-histidine)n (p(NIPAM)75-b-p(Lys)35-b-p(His)N) (N = 35,50,75,100)
copolymer bio-conjugates were prepared by combining reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization and fast ring-opening polymerization of N-carboxyanhydride a-amino acid using 1,3-dicyclohexylimidazolium hydrogen carbonate as a catalyst. All the resulting triblock copolymers
self-assembled into spherical micellar aggregates in aqueous solution, irrespective of the chain length of the histidine block. The micellar aggregates encapsulated the anticancer drug doxorubicin (Dox) and exhibited high drug loading efficiency. Temperature and pH stimuli were applied to
investigate the controlled release of Dox. The non-cytotoxic nature of the polymers was investigated using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Cellular uptake of the Dox-loaded micelles revealed that the micelles successfully release Dox in cancer cells
in response to pH- and temperature-induced morphological change. In-vitro studies further confirmed that the Dox-loaded triblock copolymer micelle is an excellent platform for drug delivery.