''N''-(2-Hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide or N-HPMA is the

monomer A monomer ( ; ''mono-'', "one" + '' -mer'', "part") is a molecule that can react together with other monomer molecules to form a larger polymer chain or two- or three-dimensional network in a process called polymerization. Classification Chemis ...

used to make the

polymer A polymer () is a chemical substance, substance or material that consists of very large molecules, or macromolecules, that are constituted by many repeat unit, repeating subunits derived from one or more species of monomers. Due to their br ...

poly(''N''-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide). The polymer is water-soluble (highly

hydrophilic A hydrophile is a molecule or other molecular entity that is attracted to water molecules and tends to be dissolved by water.Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). ''A Greek-English Lexicon'' Oxford: Clarendon Press. In contrast, hydrophobes are n ...

), non-

immunogenic Immunogenicity is the ability of a foreign substance, such as an antigen, to provoke an immune response in the body of a human or other animal. It may be wanted or unwanted: * Wanted immunogenicity typically relates to vaccines, where the injectio ...

and non-toxic, and resides in the blood circulation well. Thus, it is frequently used as macromolecular carrier for low molecular weight drugs (especially anti-cancer chemotherapeutic agents) to enhance therapeutic efficacy and limit side effects. Poly(HPMA)-drug conjugate preferably accumulates in tumor tissues via the passive-targeting process (or so-called EPR effect). Due to its favorable characteristics, HPMA polymers and copolymers are also commonly used to produce synthetic biocompatible medical materials such as

hydrogels A hydrogel is a biphasic material, a mixture of porous and permeable solids and at least 10% of water or other interstitial fluid. The solid phase is a water insoluble three dimensional network of polymers, having absorbed a large amount of ...

. The development of pHPMA as anti-cancer drug delivery vehicles is initiated by Dr.

Jindřich Kopeček Jindřich Henry Kopeček was born in Strakonice, Czech Republic, as the son of Jan and Herta Zita (Krombholz) Kopeček. He is distinguished professor of pharmaceutical chemistry and distinguished professor of biomedical engineering at the Univer ...

and colleagues at the Czech (-oslovak) Academy of Sciences in Prague in the mid-1970s. Prior to this, it was used as a

plasma expander A volume expander is a type of intravenous therapy that has the function of providing volume for the circulatory system. It may be used for fluid replacement or during surgery to prevent nausea and vomiting after surgery. Physiology When blood is ...

. The Kopeček Laboratory designed and developed HPMA copolymer-drug conjugates as a

lysosomal A lysosome () is a membrane-bound organelle that is found in all mammalian cells, with the exception of red blood cells (erythrocytes). There are normally hundreds of lysosomes in the cytosol, where they function as the cell’s degradation cent ...

delivery vehicle to cancer cells. The concept of using pHPMA as polymeric drug carriers has opened a new perspective in modern pharmaceutical science, and developed into the first polymer-drug conjugate entering clinical trials (''i.e.'' PK1; HPMA copolymer-doxorubicin conjugate). The HPMA copolymers are also used as a scaffold for iBodies, polymer-based

antibody mimetic Antibody mimetics are organic compounds that, like antibodies, can specifically bind antigens, but that are not structurally related to antibodies. They are usually artificial peptides or proteins with a molar mass of about 3 to 20 kDa. (Antibo ...

References

See also