Polymeric
micelles with cross-linked ionic cores of poly(
methacrylic acid) and nonionic shell of poly(
ethylene oxide) (cl-
micelles) are shown here to readily internalize in epithelial
cancer cells but not in normal epithelial cells that form tight junctions (TJ). The internalization of such cl-
micelles in the
cancer cells proceeded mainly through caveolae-mediated endocytosis. In confluent normal epithelial cells this endocytosis route was absent at the apical side and the cl-
micelles sequestered in TJ regions of the cell membrane without entering the cells for at least 24h. Disruption of the TJ by
calcium deprivation resulted in redistribution of cl-
micelles inside the cells. In
cancer cells following initial cellular entry the cl-
micelles bypassed the early endosomes and reached the lysosomes within 30min. This allowed designing cl-
micelles with cytotoxic
drug,
doxorubicin, linked via pH-sensitive
hydrazone bonds, which were cleaved in the acidic environment of lysosomes resulting in accumulation of the
drug in the nucleus after 5h. Such pH-sensitive cl-
micelles displayed selective toxicity to
cancer cells but were non-toxic to normal epithelial cells. In conclusion, we describe major difference in interactions of cl-
micelles with
cancer and normal cells that can lead to development of novel drug delivery system with reduced side effects and higher efficacy in
cancer chemotherapy.