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14 Reversible PEGylation ofNanocarriers
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14.3.2.6 Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA)
ELISA can be effectively used for the measurement of the concentration of the PEGylated proteins in serum samples. This technique provides an idea about the effect of PEGylation on the immunogenicity of the proteins. In this, a specic anti­gen is coated with microliter plate wells to capture PEGylated antibodies in the sample, and then, the amount of antibody bound to the antigen is determined by adding a detection antibody. A direct ELISA methodology using the antigen-coated microliter plates can also be used for the pharmacokinetics determination of the PEGylated nanocarriers. By using the competition assay methodology, direct ELISA can be used to measure the concentration of PEGylated compounds. In this case, the PEGylated nanocarrier is coated in the wells of a microtiter plate and the serum concentration of the PEGylated nanocarrier can be estimated from the degree of binding of the specic antibody to the plate coated with the compound (Filpula and Zhao 2008).
14.3.2.7 Sandwich ELISA
As the simple ELISA methodology requires only one specic antibody for the detection of PEGylated compound, it cannot usually differentiate between the PEGylate and non-PEGylated proteins or nanocarriers. So, the sophisticated meth­odologies are currently used, for example, the indirect or Sandwich ELISA which makes the use of two antibodies, one to capture the analyte on the solid surface and the other to effectively determine the concentration of the detected analyte. In order to get detected, the analyte must possess at least two antigen-binding sites, that can be considered as the distinct binding epitopes present on the same analyte. For mul­timeric analytes, the same epitope can be used as the detection antibodies that bind to the same molecule. Sandwich ELISA is used to measure the concentration of the PEGylated nanocarriers in the complex biological samples. This is a more sensitive technique than direct and competitive ELISA and often considered with due priority when the analyte is present in low concentration (Liu etal. 2020).
14.3.2.8 Anti-PEG ELISA
ELISA can be made more accurate and sensitive when the antibodies that speci­cally bind to PEG are used. For the generation of PEG-specic antibodies, a labora­tory animal is infected with PEG linked proteins. The polyclonal antibodies thus obtained can be effectively employed for the specic binding of PEGylated nano­carriers. As the PEG possess very low immunogenicity, the animal is exposed to the PEG attached protein multiple times to attain the required extent of immunogenicity (Ozer etal. 2022).
14.3.3 In Vivo Characterization ofReversible PEGylation
14.3.3.1 In Vivo Blood Circulation Half-Life
The pharmacokinetic and tissue distribution studies are the popular kinds of invivo assessment for the PEGylated nanocarriers. If the PEGylation is achieved to the
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sufcient extent, it should increase the circulation time of the formulation in blood. It should also cause the reduction in the uptake by the liver as compared to the non­PEGylated particles (Howard etal. 2008). The main purpose of the PEGylation of the nanocarriers is to increase their residence time inside the body. The circulation half-life of the PEGylated nanoparticles can be measured using mice as an ani­mal model.
In the estimation, it is evident that the nanoparticles having lower PEG surface coverage will have lowest circulation time and the blood circulation time will then increase as the concentration of PEG on surface is increased. The circulation half­life was determined in female BALB/c nude mice. Mice aged 6weeks are housed into four groups in different cages, while maintaining the temperature and relative humidity. The animals were then anesthetized by fentanyl and midazolam subcuta­neous injection. Blood samples are collected from the saphenous vein, and the blood collection was carried out before injection and after 10min, 30min, and 1, 2, 4, 6, and 24h after the injection of the formulation. Collected samples were then diluted by heparin and then vortexed and then centrifuged. The uorescence of the supernatant was measured by excitation at 535nm and emission at 620nm wave­length using a spectrophotometer (Böttger etal. 2016).
14.3.3.2 Radiolabeling
This is a very sensitive method for the determination of the pharmacokinetics of the PEG moiety and the PEGylated compounds. In this method, a radioisotope is chem­ically included in the PEG or PEGylated molecules and then administered in the small amounts. The radionucleotide atom keeps emitting the radiation which can be then detected by gamma counter to monitor the emissions of the gamma rays and the X-rays. The radioactive emissions can also be estimated by using the scintilla­tion counter, which give an idea about α and β particle emissions. For this purpose, many radioisotopes have been used by the researchers. In the case of PEGylated liposomes and micelles, the radiolabeling is often useful for the pharmacokinetic and biodistribution studies. The radioisotopes are generally attached to the surface of a liposome or can be trapped inside the liposome. The main approaches for label­ing of the liposomal surface:
(a) Anchoring of the metallic radioisotopes on the surface of the liposomes. (b) Covalent linkage of the radiolabeled chelating agents to the surface of the
liposomes.
The pharmacokinetic estimation of the PEGylated peptides can be successfully carried out by the incorporation of radioiodine, if the polypeptide backbone con­tains tyrosine residues (Cheng etal. 2012; Gaberc-Porekar etal. 2008).
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14.4 Application ofReversible PEGylation
The PEGylation approach has been extensively employed for reducing the immuno­genic properties, increasing enzymatic activities and most importantly, to prolong clearance time (Kodera et al. 1998). The various applications of the reversible PEGylation can be classied broadly as therapeutic and pharmaceutical applications.
(a) Therapeutic applications: Reversible PEGylation is being successfully
employed to modify the pharmacokinetic properties of immunological prepara­tions, anticancer agents, and antibiotics. Recently, it was also found to be useful in enzyme replacement therapy, RBC substitution, and some oxygen toxicity diseases.
(b) Pharmaceutical applications: PEGylation aids the drug delivery, and the lipo-
somes are frequently PEGylated to impart the stealth properties. Proteins are PEGylated for increasing their stability. The PEGylation approach also nds its applications in targeted delivery of therapeutic agents.

14.4.1 Therapeutic Applications

Although the scientists have made the proteins having high compatibility with the host immune system, these proteins often produce the negative immunogenic prop­erties. So, PEGylated proteins can serve as the better means which do not affect the immunity of the person. PEG stimulates the production of the antibodies, and it itself does not induce the immunogenicity. PEG conjugation does not only cause of the suppression of the hyperactive immune system, but also switches the immuno­genic types of the proteins into the tolerogenic proteins, and hence, they are consid­ered suitable for immunogenic protein administration. Severe attempts have been made to screen such immunogenic proteins and have checked for their binding with PEG moiety. The strategy for immunogenic protein PEGylation mainly involves:
(a) Identication of the conjugation site. (b) Masking of the immunogenic sites of protein by PEG conjugates. (c) Removal of the conjugate by immune system.
Then, conjugation sites are often indicated by the presence of the lysine and serine, which, in due process of PEGylation, get substituted with cysteines. To decrease the immunogenicity of the protein, the antigenic epitope of the protein is masked with the hydrated PEG cloud. The improved immunological nature of this protein is also depicted by the enhanced pharmacokinetic properties of the protein. The half-life of the coated protein will also be prolonged because of the decrease clearance of the proteins by immune system and also by glomerular ltration. After its action, the conjugates and free PEG present in the circulation is removed by the IgG and IgM antibodies (Shi etal. 2022).
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14.4.1.1 Anticancer Activity
Many enzymes possess the anticancer activity. Enzymes mainly cause depletion of the nutrients required by the cancer cell growth, so the starvation of cancer cells is caused without affecting the normal cells. Enzymes also face the similar issue like other proteins including the short half-life inside the body and immunogenic nature. An enzyme asparaginase is popularly used for the treatment of leukemia, but pos­sess serious issue of causing immunogenic reactions which lead to the allergies and anaphylactic shock. To combat the issues with asparaginase, PEGylated asparagi­nase was made by Enzon Inc. These PEGylated enzymes not only show decreased immunogenicity, but also protect the enzymes from the degrading enzymes and also prolong their circulation half-life (Higashi etal. 2020).
14.4.1.2 Antibiotic Administration
The antibiotics show limitations in use as anticancer drugs due to their low solubili­ties and side effects. The conjugates of antibiotics with PEG moiety can effectively alter the solubility, permeability, and the distribution characteristics of the antibiot­ics in order to achieve the selective drug delivery with decreased side effects and improved targeting at the desired sites of action. Scientists have successfully formu­lated the polymeric micelles of the antibiotics employing PEG moiety to overcome the issues associated and achieve more patient-friendly therapy (Alavi etal. 2022).
14.4.1.3 Enzyme-Replacement Therapy
Sometimes, a disease state is associated with the alterations in the normal physio­logical levels of certain enzymes in the body. The enzyme activity maybe decreased or completely lost, indicating a disease state. Enzon Inc. made mPEG-adenosine deaminase, i.e., ADAGEN for the treatment of severe combined immunodeciency disease (SCID). SCID causes partial or total dysfunction of immune system and after receiving the formulation, patients show improved immune responses (Yadav and Dewangan 2021).
14.4.1.4 Red Blood Cell Substitution
There are many diseases which are caused due to blood transfusions. To overcome this issue, researchers have developed an alternative to natural blood for blood transfusions. Articial blood can supply the increasing demand of blood and also has increased half-life than the natural blood. The articial blood is generally com­prised of the peruorocarbons, also known as “white bloods,” which resemble the natural blood and are chemically related to the synthetic oils.
Red bloods are made by modication of the naked hemoglobin from RBCs, so as to carry oxygen. Then major limitation associated with the articial blood is that the hemoglobin present is not protected by the red blood cell membrane and hence undergoes rapid clearance from the body and also leads to the formation of many toxic metabolites. To combat all the limitations associated with the articial blood, scientists have modied hemoglobin with PEG moiety of different molecular weights, such as 1900, 4000, and 5000. The modication of hemoglobin with PEG
PEG
Aqueous core
14 Reversible PEGylation ofNanocarriers
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moiety results in the increased half-life of the articial blood as well as decrease the generation of the toxic metabolic products (Arkosi etal. 2023).
14.4.1.5 Oxygen Toxicity Diseases
The tissue damage is caused by the oxygen-free radicals. The various diseases caused by radicals include inammation, thermal injury, and ischemia diseases. Superoxidase dismutase is an antioxidant enzyme was supposed to avoid the oxida­tive damage caused by the radicals. Also, the catalase enzyme was also employed for combating the harmful defects caused by the radicals. The disadvantage of administering the enzymes such as superoxide dismutase or catalase is that these enzymes possess very short half-life. When these enzymes are modied with the PEG moiety, the modied enzymes shown increased half-life and also increased uptake by the membrane. PEG moiety also shows the synergistic action with the enzymes by inactivating the hydroxyl radicals invitro and also increase the function of perfused kidney (Filpula and Zhao 2008).

14.4.2 Pharmaceutical Applications

14.4.2.1 PEGylated Liposomes
The PEGylated liposomes (Fig.14.7) show prolonged circulation of the liposomes inside the body and also possess the clearance kinetics which is independent of the dosage amount. The PEGylation hence improves the pharmacokinetic properties of the drug substance and shows reduced toxicity to improve the therapeutic efciency (Jain and Jain 2008).
By modication of the liposomal surface by PEG moiety, the efcacy of the lipo­some delivery can be improved by prolonging the circulation of the liposomes in the blood. The liposomes conjugated with PEG are popularly known as “stealth lipo­somes” and possess increased half-life, decreased clearance from the body and decreased volume of distribution. Also, the surface-modied liposomes are useful in targeting particular organ for the delivery of the therapeutic agent. When the PEG moiety is incorporated into the lipid bilayer of the liposome, it forms hydrated shell
Fig. 14.7 PEGylated liposome
Lipid bilayer
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that avoids the aggregation, hence improving the stability of the liposomal prepara­tion. Also, inside the body, PEG helps to protect the liposomes from destruction by plasma proteins and avoids the premature release of the liposomes inside the body. PEGylation also avoids the interaction of the liposomes by the opsonin proteins and avoids the liposomal uptake by RES (Thomas etal. 2022). PEGylation of the lipo­somes also serve as the effective means for passive targeting of the drug substance to the desired action site. By virtue of the mechanism called enhanced permeation and retention (EPR) effect, the liposomes can be preferentially accumulated in the tumor areas and effectively deliver the drug there (Milla etal. 2012).
14.4.2.2 PEGylated Proteins
PEGylated proteins show improved stability and lowered immunogenicity, com­pared to unmodied protein (Fig.14.8). So, these modied proteins show sustained action inside the body and reduce the frequency of administration. The modied proteins are administered generally every week, but the unmodied proteins require more frequent administration, i.e., once every 1 or 2days. The major limitation associated with the PEGylation of the proteins is that it may cause the chemical alteration of the protein molecule and sometimes shows the decreased therapeutic response. To avoid this, the care should be taken to avoid such chemical interac­tions. The scientists have studied the effect of the PEGylation of the proteins for the change in the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and the biodistribution and to achieve higher clinical efcacy (Harris and Chess 2003). Table14.2 contains the list of some PEGylated proteins.
The largest group of proteins, which has been modied with the PEGylation is of enzymes. Some enzymes, e.g., peroxidase, L-asparaginase, and alkaline phospha­tase, upon conjugation with PEG moiety, showed excellent pharmacokinetic prop­erties with increase stability (Milla etal. 2012). Some of the main enzymes which are modied with PEGylation are given in Table14.3:
Fig. 14.8 PEGylated protein
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Table 14.2 PEGylated proteins
Table 14.3 PEGylated enzymes
PEGylated proteins Indication Peglgrastim Neutropenia Certolizumab pegol Rheumatoid arthritis Pegloticase Chronic gout CERA Anaemia Pegademase Severe combined
immunodeciency disease
(SCID) Pegaspargase Acute lymphoblastic leukemia Peginterferon
Pegvisomant Pegvisomant Acromegaly
Protein Application Trypsin Increased proteolytic activity Chymotrypsin Increased proteolytic activity Ribonuclease Increased activity inside body Tissue plasmin
activator Interferons Antiviral applications Interleukins Immune response Elastase Increased hydrolyzing activity Superoxide dismutase Antiinammatory activity Alkaline phosphatase Increase enzyme activity L-asparaginase Increased amidolytic activity Peroxidase Increased enzyme activity invivo Glucolactone oxidase Increase stability of the conjugate
Hepatitis C
Increase circulation half life
14.4.2.3 Targeted Delivery
When the nanoformulations are surface decorated with the PEG coatings, they spe­cically bind the desired targeted receptors and increase the effectiveness of the therapy, minimizing the drug loss by clearance and hence reduce the cost of the therapy. Various researchers have successfully surface-modied the nanoformula­tions for targeting the receptors at brain, airways, nose, gastrointestinal tract, etc. (Fig.14.9) (Jain and Jain 2008).
Reversible PEGylation forDelivery toAirways
The nanoformulation delivery to the airways is essentially required to treat many ailments. However, the mucus layer present on the airways is rapidly cleared by the mucociliary clearance mechanisms and hence possess signicant problems in the drug delivery. The scientists have examined the penetration of the PEG-coated nanoparticles through the sputum. Nanoparticles with 100nm size range are found to effectively penetrate. Also, another barrier that hinders the drug action is the bio­lm. The PEG-modied nanoparticles can effectively pass through biolm. The studies shown that when the nanoparticles sized about 100nm, they were unable to
414
PEGylated
PEGylate
d
liposome
PEGylated
liposome
Fig. 14.9 Reversible PEGylation for delivery to gastrointestinal tract, airways, brain and ocular delivery
M. Mishra et al.
liposome
PEGylated
liposome
penetrate; however, when the 200nm nanoparticles well surface coated with the PEG, they efciently penetrated the respiratory mucus (Wagner 2012).
Reversible PEGylation fortheDelivery toGastrointestinal Tract
There are many barriers in the gastrointestinal delivery of the drugs. The formula­tion should possess good stability properties in order to effectively overcome the harsh environment. Researchers have studied the PEG coatings to improve the sta­bility of the lipid based formulations. Various nonionic surfactants have been used to improve the stability of the drug substance across the gastrointestinal tract. The nanoparticles were further modied with the PEG coatings and found more effec­tive than simple surfactant coatings. The nanoformulations also suffer because of the rapid clearance of the mucus in the gastrointestinal tract. The PEG coatings effectively increase the hydrophilicity of the lipid nanoparticles and hence minimize the mucoadhesion. The PEG coatings also shown the decreased cytotoxicity. For PEG coated nanoparticles who are targeting behavior, they show higher penetration to the inamed tissue, but less penetration to the normal tissues (Sadekar and Ghandehari 2012).
Reversible PEGylation fortheDelivery totheBrain
As described in the delivery to the airways, the PEGylation increases the nanopar­ticle delivery to the brain through nose. There are mainly two barriers for the drug to reach the brain, rst is the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the second is the tissue extracellular matrix. Kannan group studied the penetration of the PEGylated nanoparticles through extracellular matrix, and the nanoparticles coated with the dense PEG coatings have been found to show the increased spread and the distribu­tion, when studied in the rat model (Shechter etal. 2010).
14 Reversible PEGylation ofNanocarriers
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Reversible PEGylation forOcular Delivery
The main hurdles associated with the ocular drug delivery are poor absorption and the rapid clearance. Only less than 5% of the topically administered dose reaches the ocular tissues. To overcome these issues, the nanoformulations should be designed to possess the increased residence time and more penetration across the tissues. The inert coating produced by the PEG forms the interactions between the nanoparticle and the surface of an eye. PEG promotes mucoadhesion by formation of the hydrogen bonds between the nanoparticle and the mucus. Sanders studied the retinal drug delivery by using PEGylated nanoparticles and found that PEG coatings improve the mobility and penetration through the vitreous chamber and hence increase the drug delivery to the retina (Famili etal. 2014).
Reversible PEGylation fortheVaccine Delivery
Xua etal. have developed the hybrid nanoparticle-based nicotine vaccines by the PEGylation approach and found that when the nanoparticles are coated with 20% or lesser PEGylation, they possessed lesser stability. When the higher concentrations of PEGylation were used, specically more than 30%, the nanoparticles shown the nanoparticles with the compromised core-shell structure and also showed the slow uptake by the dendritic cells. However, when the nanoparticles were coated by the PEG concentrations in the range of 20–30%, they possessed higher stability and enhanced uptake by the dendritic cells (Lv etal. 2022).
14.5 Challenges ofReversible PEGylation
Reversible PEGylation, a process involving the attachment of PEG chains to a mol­ecule, has potential benets in drug delivery and biotechnology. However, it presents several challenges, including controlled release, biocompatibility, stability, synthesis and scalability, specicity, and immunogenicity (Veronese 2001). Controlled release involves regulating the release of PEG chains to avoid premature release or insuf­cient stability. Biocompatibility concerns arise from the potential impact of PEG breakdown products or detached chains on biological systems (Shechter etal. 2008). Also, stability is crucial under various physiological conditions, such as pH, tem­perature, and enzyme presence. Developing efcient and scalable methods for syn­thesis is a signicant challenge, as it must be economically viable and suitable for large-scale production. Specicity is another speed breaker in the path of PEGylation, as non-specic interactions or unintended PEGylation may compromise the effec­tiveness of the reversible PEGylation strategy. Immunogenicity is essential to avoid immune reactions that could impact therapeutic efcacy. Some of the key challenges associated with Reversible PEGylation are as follows (Fig.14.10):

14.5.1 Design Complexity

Reversible PEGylation systems frequently entail the creation and synthesis of intri­cate compounds with the ability to release PEG under particular circumstances. It
416
Fig. 14.10 Key challenges involved in reversible PEGylation
M. Mishra et al.
can be difcult to make a balance between stability and controlled release; this calls for close examination of the conjugate’s chemical makeup and physical characteristics.
14.5.2 Kinetics ofRelease
To maximize the therapeutic impact, PEG release kinetics and rate must be regu­lated. PEG can be released gradually and under control without releasing too much or too early because this is dependent on the particular stimuli or triggers used in the reversible PEGylation system (Thakur etal. 2015).

14.5.3 Biological Environment Stability

In order for reversible PEGylation systems to release PEG, they must rst be stable in the biological environment. Premature release into circulation and stability against enzymatic degradation or other physiological circumstances are challenges (Shechter etal. 2008).

14.5.4 Trigger Selection

Selecting the right trigger to release PEG is essential. Changes in pH, temperature, or the presence of particular enzymes are examples of common triggers. However, because it depends on the particular biological context and requirements, choosing the best trigger for a certain application might be difcult (Zalipsky etal. 2007).