Precisely delivering combinational therapeutic agents has become a crucial challenge for anti-tumor treatment. In this study, a novel redox-responsive polymeric prodrug(molecular weight,MW: 93.5 k Da) was produced by ...Precisely delivering combinational therapeutic agents has become a crucial challenge for anti-tumor treatment. In this study, a novel redox-responsive polymeric prodrug(molecular weight,MW: 93.5 k Da) was produced by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer(RAFT) polymerization. The amphiphilic block polymer-doxorubicin(DOX) prodrug was employed to deliver a hydrophobic photosensitizer(PS), chlorin e6(Ce6), and the as-prepared nanoscale system [NPs(Ce6)] was investigated as a chemo-photodynamic anti-cancer agent. The glutathione(GSH)-cleavable disulfide bond was inserted into the backbone of the polymer for biodegradation inside tumor cells, and DOX conjugated onto the polymer with a disulfide bond was successfully released intracellularly. NPs(Ce6) released DOX and Ce6 with their original molecular structures and degraded into segments with low MWs of 41.2 k Da in the presence of GSH. NPs(Ce6) showed a chemo-photodynamic therapeutic effect to kill 4 T1 murine breast cancer cells, which was confirmed from a collapsed cell morphology, a lifted level in the intracellular reactive oxygen species, a reduced viability and induced apoptosis. Moreover, ex vivo fluorescence images indicated that NPs(Ce6) retained in the tumor, and exhibited a remarkable in vivo anticancer efficacy. The combinational therapy showed a significantly increased tumor growth inhibition(TGI,58.53%). Therefore, the redox-responsive, amphiphilic block polymeric prodrug could have a great potential as a chemo-photodynamic anti-cancer agent.展开更多
基金financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(82073790,51873120,51673127,and 81621003)1·3·5 project for disciplines of excellence,West China Hospital,Sichuan University,China(ZYJC21013,ZYGD18028)。
文摘Precisely delivering combinational therapeutic agents has become a crucial challenge for anti-tumor treatment. In this study, a novel redox-responsive polymeric prodrug(molecular weight,MW: 93.5 k Da) was produced by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer(RAFT) polymerization. The amphiphilic block polymer-doxorubicin(DOX) prodrug was employed to deliver a hydrophobic photosensitizer(PS), chlorin e6(Ce6), and the as-prepared nanoscale system [NPs(Ce6)] was investigated as a chemo-photodynamic anti-cancer agent. The glutathione(GSH)-cleavable disulfide bond was inserted into the backbone of the polymer for biodegradation inside tumor cells, and DOX conjugated onto the polymer with a disulfide bond was successfully released intracellularly. NPs(Ce6) released DOX and Ce6 with their original molecular structures and degraded into segments with low MWs of 41.2 k Da in the presence of GSH. NPs(Ce6) showed a chemo-photodynamic therapeutic effect to kill 4 T1 murine breast cancer cells, which was confirmed from a collapsed cell morphology, a lifted level in the intracellular reactive oxygen species, a reduced viability and induced apoptosis. Moreover, ex vivo fluorescence images indicated that NPs(Ce6) retained in the tumor, and exhibited a remarkable in vivo anticancer efficacy. The combinational therapy showed a significantly increased tumor growth inhibition(TGI,58.53%). Therefore, the redox-responsive, amphiphilic block polymeric prodrug could have a great potential as a chemo-photodynamic anti-cancer agent.
