Enhancement of the cytotoxicity and selectivity of doxorubicin to hepatoma cells by synergistic combination of galactose-decorated γ-poly(glutamic acid) nanoparticles and low-intensity ultrasound.

Abstract

Specific drug delivery to solid tumors remains one of the challenges in cancer therapy. The aim of this study was to combine three drug-targeting strategies, polymer-drug conjugate, ligand presentation and ultrasound treatment, to enhance the efficacy and selectivity of doxorubicin (DXR) to hepatoma cells. The conjugation of DXR to γ-poly(glutamic acids) (γ-PGA) decreased the cytotoxicity of DXR, while the conjugation of galactosamine (Gal) to the γ-PGA-DXR conjugate restored the cytotoxic efficacy of DXR on hepatoma cells due to increased uptake of DXR. Furthermore, low-intensity ultrasound treatment increased the cell-killing ability of γ-PGA-DXR conjugates by 20%. The in vitro results showed the potential of the γ-PGA-DXR-Gal conjugate for future clinical applications.

• Authors: Wei-Bor Tsai, Hsin-Yu Lai, Jyun-Lin Lee, Chia-Wen Lo, Wen-Shiang Chen
• Journal: Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids (Langmuir) Vol. 30 Issue 19 Pg. 5510-7 (May 20 2014) ISSN: 1520-5827 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 24754730 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Doxorubicin
• Galactose

Topics

• Carcinoma, Hepatocellular
• Cell Survival (drug effects)
• Doxorubicin (chemistry, pharmacology)
• Drug Delivery Systems
• Galactose (chemistry)
• Humans
• Nanoparticles (chemistry)
• Tumor Cells, Cultured
• Ultrasonics