Dual Affinity Nanoparticles for the Transport of Therapeutics from Carrier Cells to Target Cells under Physiological Flow Conditions

Abstract

In this study, a novel two-stage nanoparticle delivery platform was developed based on the dual functionalization of a liposome with moieties that have fundamentally different strengths of adhesion and binding kinetics. The essential concept of this system is that the nanoparticles are designed to loosely bind to the carrier cell until they come into contact with the target cell, to which they bind with greater strength. This allows the nanoparticle to be transferred from one cell to another, circulating for longer periods of time in the blood and delivering the therapeutic agent to the target circulating tumor cell. Liposomes were prepared using the lipid cake and extrusion technique, then functionalized with E-selectin (ES), anti-cell surface vimentin antibody fragments, and TRAIL via click chemistry. The binding of dual affinity (DA) liposomes was confirmed with the neutrophil-like cell line PLB985, the colorectal cancer cell line HCT116, and healthy granulocytes isolated from peripheral whole blood under physiologically relevant fluid shear stress (FSS) in a cone-and-plate viscometer. Transfer of the DA liposomes from PLB985 to HCT116 cells under FSS was greater compared to all of the control liposome formulations. Additionally, DA liposomes demonstrated enhanced apoptotic effects on HCT116 cells in whole blood under FSS, surpassing the efficacy of the ES/TRAIL liposomes previously developed by the King Lab.