Pan Fang, Xia Yu, Zhang Bo, Mohammed Alhasan, Zhao Xiubo
School of Pharmacy, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China.
School of Medical and Health Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China.
Langmuir. 2025 Jul 29;41(29):19514-19525. doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.5c02318. Epub 2025 Jul 17.
Nanoparticles (NPs) serve as a pivotal drug delivery system (DDS). However, preparing uniform NPs with targeted drug delivery has been challenging. By leveraging NP formulation with microfluidics and functionalization with an anticancer peptide (ACP), uniform drug-loaded NPs with tumor specificity can be obtained, leading to enhanced drug bioavailability, minimized side effects, and improved therapeutic efficacy. In this study, a microfluidic swirl mixer was used to prepare curcumin (Cur)-loaded PLGA NPs (Cur@PLGA NPs). Optimized formulation of Cur@PLGA NPs (90 nm with a PDI < 0.15) was obtained through precise regulation of process parameters. In addition, the cationic amphiphilic ACP CH(CH)CO-GIIKKIIKKI-NH (CG) was incorporated onto Cur@PLGA NPs (Cur@PLGA-CG NPs), resulting in an increased size of 155 nm with a reduced PDI of 0.07. The anticancer activity and cellular uptake of Cur@PLGA-CG NPs were comprehensively evaluated through 2D/3D in vitro experiments, revealing that the peptide-functionalized NPs exhibited specificity to cancer cells and demonstrated superior anticancer effects. Notably, Cur@PLGA-CG NPs demonstrated a rapid and effective cellular uptake in cancer cells. Moreover, these NPs demonstrated enhanced growth inhibition in 3D multicellular tumor spheroids. In vivo experiments further validated the efficacy of Cur@PLGA-CG NPs in controlling tumor growth rates in MCF-7 tumor-bearing mouse models without causing adverse effects on blood cells and vital organs. Overall, this drug delivery system provides robust support for the development of more effective drug delivery systems and treatment strategies in cancer therapy.
纳米颗粒(NPs)是一种关键的药物递送系统(DDS)。然而,制备具有靶向药物递送功能的均匀纳米颗粒一直具有挑战性。通过利用微流控技术制备纳米颗粒制剂,并使用抗癌肽(ACP)进行功能化,可以获得具有肿瘤特异性的均匀载药纳米颗粒,从而提高药物生物利用度,将副作用降至最低,并提高治疗效果。在本研究中,使用微流控旋流混合器制备了负载姜黄素(Cur)的聚乳酸-羟基乙酸共聚物纳米颗粒(Cur@PLGA NPs)。通过精确调节工艺参数,获得了优化的Cur@PLGA NPs制剂(粒径90 nm,多分散指数<0.15)。此外,将阳离子两亲性ACP CH(CH)CO-GIIKKIIKKI-NH(CG)掺入Cur@PLGA NPs中(Cur@PLGA-CG NPs),导致粒径增加到155 nm,多分散指数降低至0.07。通过二维/三维体外实验全面评估了Cur@PLGA-CG NPs的抗癌活性和细胞摄取情况,结果表明肽功能化的纳米颗粒对癌细胞具有特异性,并表现出优异的抗癌效果。值得注意的是,Cur@PLGA-CG NPs在癌细胞中表现出快速有效的细胞摄取。此外,这些纳米颗粒在三维多细胞肿瘤球体中表现出增强的生长抑制作用。体内实验进一步验证了Cur@PLGA-CG NPs在控制MCF-7荷瘤小鼠模型肿瘤生长速率方面的疗效,且对血细胞和重要器官没有不良影响。总体而言,这种药物递送系统为癌症治疗中更有效的药物递送系统和治疗策略的开发提供了有力支持。
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