Self-Signal-Triggered Drug Delivery System for Tumor Therapy Using Cancer Cell Membrane-Coated Biocompatible Mn₃O₄...

In anti-cancer metastasis treatment, precise drug delivery to cancer cells remains a challenge. Innovative nanocomposites are developed to tackle these issues effectively. The approach involves the creation of manganese oxide (Mn₃O₄) nanoparticles (NPs) and their functionalization using trisodium citrate to yield functionalized Mn₃O₄ NPs (F-Mn₃O₄ NPs), with enhanced water solubility, stability, and biocompatibility. Subsequently, the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin (DOX) is encapsulated with Mn₃O₄ NPs, resulting in DOX/Mn₃O₄ NPs. To achieve cell-specific targeting, These NPs are coated with HeLa cell membranes (HCM), forming HCM/DOX/Mn₃O₄. For further refinement, a transferrin (Tf) receptor is integrated with cracked HCM to create Tf-HCM/DOX/Mn₃O₄ nanocomposites (NC) with specific cell membrane targeting capabilities. The resulting Tf-HCM/DOX/Mn₃O₄ NC exhibits excellent drug encapsulation efficiency (97.5%) and displays triggered drug release when exposed to NIR laser irradiation in the tumor's environment (pH 5.0 and 6.5). Furthermore, these nanocomposites show resistance to macrophage uptake and demonstrate homotypic cancer cell targeting specificity, even in the presence of other tumor cells. In vitro toxicity tests show that Tf-HCM/DOX/Mn₃O₄ NC achieves significant anticancer activity against HeLa and BT20 cancer cells, with percentages of 76.46% and 71.36%, respectively. These results indicate the potential of Tf-HCM/DOX/Mn₃O₄ NC as an effective nanoplatform for chemo-photothermal therapy.