A novel temperature-responsive micelle for enhancing combination therapy.

A novel thermosensitive polymer p(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-poly[ethylene glycol] methyl ether acrylate)-block-poly(epsilon-caprolactone), p(NIPAAM-co-PEGMEA)-b-PCL, was synthesized and developed as nanomicelles. The hydrophobic heat shock protein 90 inhibitor 17-allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin and the photosensitizer cyanine dye infrared-780 were loaded into the core of the micelles to achieve both chemotherapy and photothermal therapy simultaneously at the tumor site. The release of the drug could be controlled by varying the temperature due to the thermosensitive nature of the micelles. The micelles were less than 200 nm in size, and the drug encapsulation efficiency was >50%. The critical micelle concentrations were small enough to allow micelle stability upon dilution. Data from cell viability and animal experiments indicate that this combination treatment using photothermal therapy with chemotherapy had synergistic effects while decreasing side effects.