Anticancer drug delivery to cancer cells using alkyl amine-functionalized nanodiamond supraparticles

Nanocarriers have attracted increasing interest due to their potential applications in anticancer drug delivery. In particular, the ability of nanodiamonds (NDs) to spontaneously self-assemble into unique nano-structured architectures has been exploited in the development of nanocarriers. In this context, we synthesized functional supraparticles (SPs) by the self-assembly of alkyl amine-modified NDs for use in anticancer chemotherapy. The structural, physical, and physiological properties of these ND-SPs as well as their high biocompatibility were assessed using microscopic techniques and various characterization experiments. Finally, a model anticancer drug (CPT; camptothecin) was loaded into the ND-SPs to investigate their anticancer efficacy in vitro and in vivo. After incubation of CPT-loaded ND-SPs with cancer cells, a dramatic anticancer effect of ND-SPs was expressed, compared to CPT-loaded ordinary nanocarriers of polyethylene glycol-modified polymer micelles and conventional Intralipid® 20% emulsions containing CPT. Our results demonstrated that ND-SPs may serve as a nanomedicine with significant therapeutic potential.