Tailor-made dual pH-sensitive polymer-doxorubicin nanoparticles for efficient anticancer drug delivery

J Am Chem Soc. 2011 Nov 9;133(44):17560-3. doi: 10.1021/ja207150n. Epub 2011 Oct 17.

Abstract

Efficient delivery of therapeutics into tumor cells to increase the intracellular drug concentration is a major challenge for cancer therapy due to drug resistance and inefficient cellular uptake. Herein, we have designed a tailor-made dual pH-sensitive polymer-drug conjugate nanoparticulate system to overcome the challenges. The nanoparticle is capable of reversing its surface charge from negative to positive at tumor extracellular pH (∼6.8) to facilitate cell internalization. Subsequently, the significantly increased acidity in subcellular compartments such as the endosome (∼5.0) further promotes doxorubicin release from the endocytosed drug carriers. This dual pH-sensitive nanoparticle has showed enhanced cytotoxicity in drug-resistant cancer stem cells, indicating its great potential for cancer therapy.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemical synthesis
  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemistry
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Doxorubicin / chemistry
  • Doxorubicin / pharmacology*
  • Drug Delivery Systems*
  • Drug Design
  • Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor
  • Humans
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Nanoparticles / chemistry*
  • Polymers / chemical synthesis
  • Polymers / chemistry
  • Polymers / pharmacology*
  • Structure-Activity Relationship

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Polymers
  • Doxorubicin