Co-delivery of chemotherapeutics and siRNA with different mechanisms in a single system is a promising strategy for effective cancer therapy with synergistic effects. In this study, a triblock copolymer micelle was prepared based on the polymer of N-succinyl chitosan–poly-L-lysine–palmitic acid (NSC–PLL–PA) to co-deliver doxorubicin (Dox) and siRNA–P-glycoprotein (P-gp) (Dox–siRNA-micelle). Dox–siRNA-micelle was unstable in pH 5.3 medium than in pH 7.4 medium, which corresponded with the in vitro rapid release of Dox and siRNA in acidic environments. The antitumor efficacy of Dox–siRNA-micelle in vitro significantly increased, especially in HepG2/ADM cells, which was due to the downregulation of P-gp. Moreover, almost all the Dox–siRNA-micelles accumulated in the tumor region beyond 24 h post-injection, and the co-delivery system significantly inhibited tumor growth with synergistic effects in vivo. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of Dox–siRNA-micelles in tumor-targeting and MDR reversal, and provided a promising strategy to develop a co-delivery system with synergistic effects for combined cancer therapy.

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N-Succinyl-chitosan (NSC) was synthesized and NSC nanoparticles (NPs) with loaded osthole (Ost) (Ost/NSC-NPs) were prepared by emulsion solvent diffusion. Subsequently, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-mediated NSC-NPs with loaded Ost (Ost/LDL-NSC-NPs) were obtained by coupling LDL with Ost/NSC-NPs through amide linkage. The average particle size of Ost/NSC-NPs was approximately 145 nm, the entrapment efficiency was 78.28%±2.06%, and the drug-loading amount was 18.09%±0.17%. The release of Ost from Ost/NSC-NPs in vitro showed a more evident sustained effect than the native material. The half maximal inhibitory concentration of Ost/LDL-NSC-NPs was only 16.23% that of the free Ost at 24 hours in HepG2 cells. Ost inhibited HepG2 cell proliferation by arresting cells in the synthesis phase of the cell cycle and by triggering apoptosis. Cellular uptake and subcellular localization in vitro and near-infrared fluorescence real-time imaging in vivo showed that Ost/LDL-NSC-NPs had high targeting efficacy. Therefore, LDL-NSC-NPs are a promising system for targeted Ost delivery to liver tumor.