Dual-drug loaded nanoformulation with a galactosamine homing moiety for liver-targeted anticancer therapy

Drug resistance and unfavorable pharmacokinetics are the major obstacles for conventional anticancer drugs. A combination of different anticancer drugs into one formulation is a common strategy to alleviate the side effects of individual drugs in clinical practice. Platinum anticancer drugs are the typical defective therapeutic agents for cancer chemotherapy and have poor selectivity for tumor cells. In this study, a nanosystem composed of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), Pt(IV) prodrug (PPD) and α-tocopheryl succinate (α-TOS) was designed to overcome these defects. The Pt(IV) prodrug, c,c,t-[Pt(NH3)2Cl2(O2CC(CH3)3)2], was prepared by the reaction of oxoplatin with trimethylacetic anhydride and its structure was characterized by X-ray crystallography. The PPD and α-TOS self-assembled with PLGA, forming a dual-drug loaded nanoparticle (DDNP). The surface of the DDNP was decorated with galactosamine (G), giving rise to a G-DDNP that can actively target the liver cancer cells through the overexpressed asialoglycoprotein receptors. The DDNPs and G-DDNPs were characterized by SEM, TEM, and DLS. They are spherical in shape with required polydispersity and suitable mean size (ca. 150 nm). The in vitro cytotoxicity of DDNPs and G-DDNPs was tested against the human SMMC-7721 liver cancer cell line. G-DDNPs are more potent than the corresponding free drugs and untargeted DDNP, showing that some synergistic and tumor-specific effects are achieved by this strategy. The results demonstrate that dual-drug loaded nanoformulations with tumor-targeting function could be effective anticancer agents for conquering the shortcomings related to single-drug chemotherapy.