Micellic assemblies

1. A micellic assembly comprising a core and a shell, the micellic assembly comprising a plurality of block copolymers of Formula I:

wherein

A 0 , A 1 , A 2 , A 3 and A 4 are independently selected from the group consisting of —C—, —C—C—, —C(O)(C) a C(O)O—, —O(C) a C(O)— and —O(C) b O—; wherein,

a is 1-4;

b is 2-4;

Y 4 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, -(1C-10C)alkyl, -(3C-6C)cycloalkyl, —O-(1C-10C)alkyl, —C(O)O(1C-10C)alkyl, -(4C-10C)heteroaryl and -(6C-10C) aryl, any of which is optionally substituted with one or more fluorine groups;

Y 0 , Y 1 and Y 2 are independently selected from the group consisting of a covalent bond, -(1C-10C)alkyl-, —C(O)O(2C-10C) alkyl-, —OC(O)(1C-10C) alkyl-, —O(2C-10C)alkyl-, —S(2C-10C)alkyl- —C(O)NR 6 (2C-10C) alkyl-, -(4C-10C)heteroaryl-, and -(6C-10C)aryl-;

Y 3 is selected from the group consisting of a covalent bond, -(1C-10C)alkyl-, -(4C-10C)heteroaryl- and -(6C-10C)aryl-; wherein tetravalent carbon atoms of A 0 -A 4 that are not fully substituted with R 1 -R 5 and Y 0 -Y 4 are completed with an appropriate number of hydrogen atoms;

R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , and R 6 are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, —CN, alkyl, alkynyl, heteroalkyl, cycloalkyl, heterocycloalkyl, aryl and heteroaryl, any of which may be optionally substituted with one or more fluorine atoms;

Q 0 is a residue selected from the group consisting of residues which are hydrophilic at physiologic pH; conjugatable or functionalizable residues; and hydrogen;

Q 1 is a residue which is hydrophilic at physiologic pH;

Q 2 is a residue which is positively charged at physiologic pH;

Q 3 is a residue which is negatively charged at physiologic pH, but undergoes protonation at lower pH;

m is a mole fraction of 0 to less than 1.0;

n is a mole fraction of greater than 0 to 1.0; wherein m+n=1;

p is a mole fraction of 0.1 to 0.9;

q is a mole fraction of 0.1 to 0.9;

r is present up to a mole fraction of 0.8; wherein p+q+r=1;

v is from 1 to 25 kDa; and

w is from 1 to 50 kDa.

2. The micellic assembly of claim 1 , wherein Q 1 is a polyethylene glycol group.

3. The micellic assembly of claim 1 , wherein the form of the micellic assembly over the pH range of about 6.2 to 7.5 is a micelle, a pseudo-micelle, or a micelle-like structure.

4. The micellic assembly of claim 1 , wherein the micellic assembly comprises at least one therapeutic agent.

5. The micellic assembly of claim 4 , wherein the therapeutic agent is in the shell of the micellic assembly.

6. The micellic assembly of claim 5 , wherein the therapeutic agent is attached to the copolymer by a covalent bond, a non-covalent interaction, or a combination thereof.

7. The micellic assembly of claim 4 , wherein the therapeutic agent is a polynucleotide, an oligonucleotide, a gene expression modulator, a knockdown agent, an siRNA, an RNAi agent, a dicer substrate, an miRNA, an shRNA, an antisense oligonucleotide, or an aptamer.

8. The micellic assembly of claim 1 , wherein the micellic assembly comprises at least one targeting moiety.

9. A composition, comprising the micellic assembly of claim 1 .

10. A method for intracellular delivery of a polynucleotide, comprising contacting a cell with the micellic assembly of claim 1 .

11. The micellic assembly of claim 1 , wherein m is 0 and Q 1 is a polyethylene glycol residue.

12. The micellic assembly of claim 1 , wherein m is 0, Q 1 is a polyethylene glycol residue, Q 2 is an amino residue and Q 3 is a carboxyl residue.

13. The micellic assembly of claim 1 , wherein

A 1 is —C—C—;

Y 1 is —C(O)OCH 2 CH 2 —; and

R 2 is —CH 3 .

14. The micellic assembly of claim 1 , wherein

A 2 is —C—C—;

Y 2 is —C(O)OCH 2 CH 2 —; and

R 3 is —CH 3 .

15. The micellic assembly of claim 1 , wherein

A 3 is —C—C—;

R 4 is CH 3 CH 2 CH 2 —; and

Y 3 is a covalent bond.

16. The micellic assembly of claim 1 , wherein

A 4 is —C—C—;

R 5 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and —CH 3 ; and,

Y 4 is —C(O)O(CH 2 ) 3 CH 3 .

17. The micellic assembly of claim 1 , wherein

A 0 is —C—C—;

R 1 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and (1C-3C)alkyl; and

Y 0 is selected from the group consisting of —C(O)O(2C-10C)alkyl-.

18. The micellic assembly of claim 1 , wherein v is from 5 to 25 kDa.

19. The micellic assembly of claim 1 , wherein m is 0.

20. The micellic assembly of claim 1 , wherein

A 0 , A 1 , A 2 , A 3 and A 4 are —C—C—;

Y 4 is —C(O)O(1C-10C)alkyl;

Y 0 , Y 1 and Y 2 are —C(O)O(2C-10C) alkyl-;

Y 3 is a covalent bond; wherein tetravalent carbon atoms of A 0 -A 4 that are not fully substituted with R 1 -R 5 and Y 0 -Y 4 are completed with an appropriate number of hydrogen atoms;

each of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 and R 5 is independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and alkyl;

Q 0 is a pyridyl disulfide residue;

Q 1 is a residue selected from the group consisting of polyoxylated alkyl, polyethylene glycol, and polypropylene glycol;

Q 2 is a residue selected from the group consisting of amino and alkylamino;

Q 3 is a carboxyl residue;

m is a mole fraction of 0 to less than 1.0;

n is a mole fraction of greater than 0 to 1.0, wherein m+n=1;

p is a mole fraction of 0.1 to 0.9;

q is a mole fraction of 0.1 to 0.9;

r is present up to a mole fraction of 0.8, wherein p+q+r=1;

v is from 1 to 25 kDa; and

w is from 1 to 50 kDa.

21. The micellic assembly of claim 1 , wherein Q 0 is a residue selected from the group consisting of amino, alkylamino, ammonium, alkylammonium, guanidine, imidazolyl, pyridyl, carboxyl, sulfonamide, boronate, phosphonate, phosphate, hydroxy, polyoxylated alkyl, polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, thiol, azide, alkyne, succinimide ester, tetrafluorophenyl ester, pentafluorophenyl ester, p-nitrophenyl ester, pyridyl disulfide and hydrogen;

Q 1 is a residue selected from the group consisting of amino, alkylamino, ammonium, alkylammonium, guanidine, imidazolyl, pyridyl, carboxyl, sulfonamide, boronate, phosphonate, phosphate, hydroxy, polyoxylated alkyl, polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol and thiol;

Q 2 is a residue selected from the group consisting of amino, alkylamino, ammonium, alkylammonium, guanidine, imidazolyl, and pyridyl; and

Q 3 is a residue selected from the group consisting of carboxyl, sulfonamide, boronate, phosphonate, and phosphate.

22. The micellic assembly of claim 1 , wherein the diblock copolymer, having the chemical Formula I is a diblock copolymer of the Formula IV2:

wherein

p is a mole fraction of 0.1 to 0.9;

q is a mole fraction of 0.1 to 0.9;

r is present up to a mole fraction of 0.8, wherein p+q+r=1;

v is from 1 to 25 kDa;

w is from 1 to 50 kDa; and

Z − is a physiological acceptable counterion.

23. The micellic assembly of claim 22 , wherein Z − is selected from the group consisting of hydroxide, chloride, phosphate, sulfate, sulfonate, acetate, propionate, butyrate, valerate, caproate, caprylate, caprate, laurate, myristate, palmate, stearate, palmitolate, oleate, linolate, arachidate, gadoleate, vaccinate, lactate, glycolate, salicylate, desamionphenylalanine, desaminoserine, desaminothreonine, ε-hydroxycaproate, 3-hydroxybutylrate, 4-hydroxybutyrate and 3-hydroxyvalerate.

24. The micellic assembly of claim 22 , wherein Z − is hydroxide.

25. The micellic assembly of claim 4 , wherein the therapeutic agent is a polypeptide.