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Abstract:
Background: Photodynamic therapy (PDT), a clinical anticancer therapeutic modality, has a long history in clinical cancer treatments since the 1970s. However, PDT has not been widely used largely because of metabolic problems and off-target phototoxicities of the current clinical photosensitizers. Purpose: The objective of the study is to develop a high-efficiency and high-specificity carrier to precisely deliver photosensitizers to tumor sites, aiming at addressing metabolic problems, as well as the systemic damages current clinical photosensitizers are known to cause. Methods: We synthesized a polydopamine (PDA)-based carrier with the modification of folic acid (FA), which is to target the overexpressed folate receptors on tumor surfaces. We used this carrier to load a cationic phthalocyanine-type photosensitizer (Pc) and generated a PDA-FA-Pc nanomedicine. We determined the antitumor effects and the specificity to tumor cell lines in vitro. In addition, we established human cancer-xenografted mice models to evaluate the tumor-targeting property and anticancer efficacies in vivo. Results: Our PDA-FA-Pc nanomedicine demonstrated a high stability in normal physiological conditions, however, could specifically release photosensitizers in acidic conditions, eg, tumor microenvironment and lysosomes in cancer cells. Additionally, PDA-FA-Pc nanomedicine demonstrated a much higher cellular uptake and phototoxicity in cancer cell lines than in healthy cell lines. Moreover, the in vivo imaging data indicated excellent tumor-targeting properties of PDA-FA-Pc nanomedicine in human cancer-xenografted mice. Lastly, PDAFA-Pc nanomedicine was found to significantly suppress tumor growth within two human cancer-xenografted mice models. Conclusion: Our current study not only demonstrates PDA-FA-Pc nanomedicine as a highly potent and specific anticancer agent, but also suggests a strategy to address the metabolic and specificity problems of clinical photosensitizers.
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Source :
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NANOMEDICINE
ISSN: 1178-2013
Year: 2019
Volume: 14
Page: 6799-6812
5 . 1 1 5
JCR@2019
6 . 7 0 0
JCR@2023
ESI Discipline: PHARMACOLOGY & TOXICOLOGY;
ESI HC Threshold:136
CAS Journal Grade:2
Cited Count:
WoS CC Cited Count: 32
SCOPUS Cited Count: 34
ESI Highly Cited Papers on the List: 0 Unfold All
WanFang Cited Count:
Chinese Cited Count:
30 Days PV: 2
Affiliated Colleges: