Preparation and In Vitro Evaluation of a Multifunctional Iron Silicate@Liposome Nanohybrid for pH-Sensitive Doxorubicin Delivery and Photoacoustic Imaging

Abstract EN

For preventing premature drug release in neutral environment and avoiding them being trapped into the endosomal/lysosomal system, we developed a novel iron silicate@liposome hybrid (ILH) formulation, which can be used as a carrier to transport doxorubicin (DOX) in a pH-sensitive manner and to escape from endosomal/lysosomal trapping through “proton-sponge” effect.

The high intensity of photoacoustic signal from in vitro photoacoustic imaging (PAI) experiments suggests that it is a promising candidate for PAI agent, providing the potential for simultaneously bioimaging and cancer-targeting drug delivery.

Cytotoxicity of our formulation toward tumor cells was remarkably higher than free DOX (48.4±7.7% and 26.2±8.4%, P<0.001).

Confocal laser scanning microscopy experiments showed the enhanced transportation and enrichment process of DOX in QSG-7703 cells.

Taking together, we developed an easy approach to construct a multifunctional anticancer drug delivery/imaging system with a potency as a PAI agent.

The strategy of combining drug carrier and imaging agent is an emerging platform for further construction of nanoparticle and may play a significant role in cancer therapy and diagnosis.