Thermal responsive micelles for dual tumor-targeting imaging and therapy

Two kinds of thermally responsive polymers P(FAA-NIPA-co-AAm-co-ODA) and P(FPA-NIPA-co-AAm-co-ODA) containing folate, isopropyl acrylamide and octadecyl acrylate were fabricated through free radical random copolymerization for targeted drug delivery. Then the micelles formed in aqueous solution by self-assembly and were characterized in terms of particle size, lower critical solution temperature (LCST) and a variety of optical spectra. MTT assays demonstrated the low cytotoxicity of the control micelle and drug-loaded micelle on A549 cells and Bel 7402 cells. Then fluorescein and cypate were used as model drugs to optimize the constituents of micelles for drug entrapment efficiency and investigate the release kinetics of micelles in vitro. The FA and thermal co-mediated tumor-targeting efficiency of the two kinds of micelles were verified and compared in detail at cell level and animal level, respectively. These results indicated that the dual-targeting micelles are promising drug delivery systems for tumor-targeting therapy.