Design of pH-sensitive methotrexate prodrug-targeted curcumin nanoparticles for efficient dual-drug delivery and combination cancer therapy.

ABSTRACT:

Aim

We designed acid-labile methotrexate (MTX) targeting prodrug self-assembling nanoparticles loaded with curcumin (CUR) drug for simultaneous delivery of multi-chemotherapeutic drugs and combination cancer therapy.

Methods

A dual-acting MTX, acting as both an anticancer drug and as a tumor-targeting ligand, was coupled to 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[aldehyde(polyethylene glycol)-2000] via Schiff's base reaction. The synthesized prodrug conjugate (DSPE-PEG-Imine-MTX) could be self-assembled into micellar nanoparticles (MTX-Imine-M) in aqueous solution, which encapsulated CUR into their core by hydrophobic interactions (MTX-Imine-M-CUR).

Results

The prepared MTX-Imine-M-CUR nanoparticles were composed of an inner hydrophobic DSPE/CUR core and an

SUBMITTER: Xie J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5849920 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature