Surface-Modified Nanoerythrocyte Loading DOX for Targeted Liver Cancer Chemotherapy

Abstract

Anticancer drugs cannot be located in the tumor efficiently when intravenously administered because of their weak tissue specificity and often present the problems of low therapeutic activity and severe adverse effects. To conquer these challenges, a targeting nanomedicine system based on human body cells or cell derivates have drawn more attention from scientists in recent decades. In this work, we used doxorubicin (DOX) as a model drug and a nanoerythrocyte modified with folic acid (FA) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a carrier to develop a novel tumor targeting drug delivery system (FA/PEG-DOX-Nano-RBCs) to enhance antitumor efficacy and reduce drug-related toxicity. The results showed that this drug delivery system exhibited inspiring features including nanoscale particle size with uniform distribution, good physicochemical stability, and sustained drug release behavior. Compared with DOX injection, FA/PEG-DOX-Nano-RBCs can greatly prolong the drug circulation time in vivo and upgrade the drug concentration accumulated in tumor tissue. Moreover, FA/PEG-DOX-Nano-RBCs exerted stronger antitumor efficacy in vivo against liver cancer and showed superior safety. In conclusion, a surface-modified nanoerythrocyte was a promising drug delivery vehicle for achieving improved therapeutic efficacy and reduced systemic adverse effects for anticancer drugs.

Keywords: DOX; PEG; antitumor efficacy; folic acid; nanoerythrocyte; targeting effect.