Issue 4, 2018

Reduction and pH dual-sensitive nanovesicles co-delivering doxorubicin and gefitinib for effective tumor therapy

Abstract

Owing to the complexity of tumorgenesis, combination therapy has proven to be a viable strategy for cancer treatment in recent years. However, the delivery and site-specific release of different therapeutic agents remain a major challenge in combination therapy. In this study, a polymeric nanovesicle based on a copolymer of polyethylene glycol and a polypeptide derivative was introduced as a vector to simultaneously deliver hydrophobic gefitinib and hydrophilic doxorubicin hydrochloride for multi-target combination therapy. The vesicle incorporating the two drugs exhibited prominent pH/reduction sensitivities to trigger the release of gefitinib and doxorubicin inside cancer cells. The two drugs co-delivered by the polymeric nanovesicle exhibited a joint anticancer effect both in vitro and in vivo. In particular, a remarkable therapeutic effect was demonstrated in animal studies using a mouse N2a neuroblastoma model. This study reveals the potential of reduction and pH dual-responsive nanovesicles bearing gefitinib and doxorubicin as an effective nano-medicine for cancer treatment.

Graphical abstract: Reduction and pH dual-sensitive nanovesicles co-delivering doxorubicin and gefitinib for effective tumor therapy

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
20 Nov 2017
Accepted
28 Dec 2017
First published
09 Jan 2018
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2018,8, 2082-2091

Reduction and pH dual-sensitive nanovesicles co-delivering doxorubicin and gefitinib for effective tumor therapy

Y. Chen, X. Li, H. Xiao, J. Xiao, B. Li, X. Chen, Y. Wang, D. Cheng and X. Shuai, RSC Adv., 2018, 8, 2082 DOI: 10.1039/C7RA12620D

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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