Self-Assembled Nanoparticles Platform Based on Pectin-Dihydroartemisinin Conjugates for Codelivery of Anticancer Drugs

Abstract

Natural pectin is an important carrier for delivering drugs in biomedical research, however, there are only a few reports on the preparation of pectin nanoparticles, especially a particle size of below 100 nm with high yield. Here we design pectin-dihydroartemisinin/hydrooxycampothecin nanoparticles (PDC-H NPs) through a self-assembly method. The prepared PDC-H NPs contained hydrophilic part of pectin and hydrophobic anticancer drugs of dihydroartemisinin and hydroxycamptothecin, which could increase drug loading, improve water solubility, and achieve controlled release of drugs. The results indicated that the particle size of PDC-H NPs was about 70 nm, drug-loaded efficiency of DHA was 20.33 wt %, and encapsulation efficiency of HCPT was 14.11 wt %. PDC-H NPs exhibited a higher cytotoxicity, the blood retention time of PDC-H NPs was 4.8-fold longer than DHA and was 6.8-fold longer than HCPT. In addition, effective cellular uptake exhibited an obvious synergistic effect compared with DHA and HCPT. 4T1 tumor-bearing mice also showed a higher survival rate than free DHA and free HCPT. The result show that the self-assembled PDC-H NPs is a promising anticancer drug for codelivery.

Self-Assembled Folic Acid-Targeted Pectin-Multi-Arm Polyethylene Glycol Nanoparticles for Tumor Intracellular Chemotherapy

“…Targeted HCPT@F-Pt-PU NPs were prepared by self-assembly. − Briefly, 5 mg of F-Pt-PU conjugates and 1 mg of HCPT were dissolved in 2 mL of DMSO and added dropwise slowly to deionized water with rapid stirring for 10 min to obtain the HCPT@F-Pt-PU NP solution. The nanoparticle solution was transferred to a dialysis membrane (MWCO 3 kDa) and dialyzed against the PBS solution (pH 7.4) for 12 h. Then, the nanoparticle solution was collected and freeze-dried to obtain the HCPT@F-Pt-PU NP powder.…”

Chitosan-Based Nanogel Enhances Chemotherapeutic Efficacy of 10-Hydroxycamptothecin against Human Breast Cancer Cells

“…The zeta potential is important for evaluating the stability and dispersion of nanoparticles [23]. In addition, positively charged particles have a great efficiency in cell membrane infiltration and internalization [24]. Obviously, CS/HCPT is an excellent platform for drug delivery.…”

Biological Activity and Pharmacological Application of Pectic Polysaccharides: A Review

“…A self-assembled nanoparticles platform based on pectin–dihydroartemisinin conjugates for the co-delivery of anti-cancer drugs was developed by Liu et al [113]. A pectin-based nanocarrier was designed as a combined simultaneous multiple-cargo consisting of the hydrophobic drugs dihydroartemisinin and 10-hydroxycamptothecin to be delivered to tumor sites.…”

“…In vitro tests displayed that the PDC-H NPs revealed a higher cellular uptake, greater cell apoptosis induction, and cell-viability inhibition capacity in contrast with dihydroartemisinin and 10-hydroxycamptothecin. PDC-H NPs could actively capture mammary carcinoma cells by confocal microscopy imaging [113].…”