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Updated: Feb 14, 2026

Manufacture and Drug Delivery Applications of Silk Nanoparticles
Published on: October 8, 2016
Carbon Dioxide-Generating PLG Nanoparticles for Controlled Anti-Cancer Drug Delivery
Hyeon Jin Jang1, Eun Ju Jeong1, Kuen Yong Lee2,3
1Department of Bioengineering, Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, 04763, Republic of Korea.
Purpose:
Poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLG) nanoparticles containing doxorubicin and mineralized calcium carbonate were fabricated and their anti-tumor efficacy was tested using a neuroblastoma-bearing mouse model.
Methods:
PLG nanoparticles were prepared by a double emulsion (water-in-oil-in-water; W/O/W) method. Calcium carbonate was mineralized within the PLG nanoparticles during the emulsion process. Rabies virus glycoprotein (RVG) peptide was chemically introduced to the surface of the PLG nanoparticles as a targeting moiety against neuroblastoma. The cytotoxicity and cellular uptake characteristics of these nanoparticles were investigated in vitro. Moreover, their therapeutic efficacy was evaluated using a tumor-bearing mouse model.
Results:
Mineralized calcium carbonate in PLG nanoparticles was ionized at acidic pH and generated carbon dioxide gas, which resultantly accelerated the release of doxorubicin from the nanoparticles. RVG peptide-modified, gas-generating PLG nanoparticles showed a significantly enhanced targeting ability to neuroblastoma and an increased therapeutic efficacy in vivo as compared with free doxorubicin.
Conclusions:
Targeting ligand-modified polymer nanoparticles containing both anti-cancer drug and mineralized calcium carbonate could be useful for cancer treatment.
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