Investigation of self-assembled poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(L-lactic acid) micelle as potential drug delivery system for poorly water soluble anticancer drug abemaciclib

Lysine-Polydopamine Nanocrystals Loaded with the Codrug Abemaciclib-Flurbiprofen for Oral Treatment of Cancer

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) combined with chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC) are a promising therapeutic strategy. NSAIDs can effectively boost the antitumor efficacy of chemotherapeutic agents by inhibiting the synthesis of COX-2. However, hazardous side effects and barriers to oral drug absorption are the main challenges for combination therapy with chemotherapeutics and NSAIDs. To address these issues, a safe and effective lysine-polydopamine@abemaciclib-flurbiprofen (Flu) codrug nanocrystal (Lys-PDA@AF NCs) was designed. Abemaciclib (Abe), a novel and effective inhibitor of the CDK4/6 enzyme, and Flu were joined to prepare Abemaciclib-Flu codrug (AF) by amide bonds, and then the AF was made into nanocrystals. Lysine-modified polydopamine was selected as a shell to encapsulate nanocrystals to enhance intestinal adhesion and penetration and lengthen the duration time of drugs in vivo. Nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared, Massspectrometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Transmission electron microscopy, and drug loading were used to evaluate the physicochemical characteristics of the nanocrystals. In our study, Abe and Flu were released to exert their synergistic effect when the amide bond of AF was broken and the amide bond was sensitive to cathepsin B which is overexpressed in most tumor tissues, thus increasing the selectivity of the drug to the tumor. The results showed that Lys-PDA@AF NCs had higher cytotoxicity for CRC cell with an IC50 of 4.86 μg/mL. Additionally, pharmacokinetics showed that Abe and Flu had similar absorption rates in the Lys-PDA@AF NCs group, improving the safety of combination therapy. Meanwhile, in vivo experiments showed that Lys-PDA@AF NCs had excellent antitumor effects and safety. Overall, it was anticipated that the created Lys-PDA@AF NCs would be a potential method for treating cancer.

One-Pot Preparation of HCPT@IRMOF-3 Nanoparticles for pH-Responsive Anticancer Drug Delivery

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are considered to be promising materials for drug delivery. In this work, a Zinc-based MOF nanocomposite IRMOF-3 was introduced as a drug carrier for 10-hydroxycamptothecine (HCPT). Without an extra drug-loading process, a nanoscale drug delivery material HCPT@IRMOF-3 was prepared via one-pot synthesis. The composition and structure of the material were investigated, and the drug release character was measured. Compared with preparing IRMOF-3 first and loading the drug, the one-pot-prepared HCPT@IRMOF-3 exhibited a higher drug-loading capacity. The material presented pH-responsive release. The HCPT release rate at pH 5.0 was significantly higher than that at pH 7.4. The cytotoxicity experiments showed that IRMOF-3 was non-toxic, and HCPT@IRMOF-3 exhibited notable cytotoxicity to Hela and SH-SY5Y cells. One-pot synthesis is a simple and rapid method for the preparation of an MOF drug delivery system, and IRMOF-3 can be potentially used in pH-responsive drug delivery systems.

Multifunctional Polymeric Micelles for Cancer Therapy

Polymeric micelles, nanosized assemblies of amphiphilic polymers with a core-shell architecture, have been used as carriers for various therapeutic compounds. They have gained attention due to specific properties such as their capacity to solubilize poorly water-soluble drugs, biocompatibility, and the ability to accumulate in tumor via enhanced permeability and retention (EPR). Moreover, additional functionality can be provided to the micelles by a further modification. For example, micelle surface modification with targeting ligands allows a specific targeting and enhanced tumor accumulation. The introduction of stimuli-sensitive groups leads to the drug's release in response to environment change. This review highlights the progress in the development of multifunctional polymeric micelles in the field of cancer therapy. This review will also cover some examples of multifunctional polymeric micelles that are applied for tumor imaging and theragnosis.