Surface modification of MPEG-b-PCL-based nanoparticles via oxidative self-polymerization of dopamine for malignant melanoma therapy

Abstract

To enhance the therapeutic effects of chemotherapy on malignant melanoma, paclitaxel (PTX)-loaded methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)- b -poly(ε-caprolactone) nanoparticles (MPEG- b -PCL NPs) that had their surfaces modified with polydopamine (PTX-loaded MPEG- b -PCL NPs@PDA) were prepared as drug vehicles. The block copolymer MPEG- b -PCL was synthesized by ring-opening polymerization and characterized by proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and gel permeation chromatography. The PTX-loaded NPs were prepared by a modified nanoprecipitation technique. The PTX-loaded NPs and PTX-loaded NPs@PDA were characterized in terms of size and size distribution, zeta potential, surface morphology, drug encapsulation efficiency, and drug release. Confocal laser scanning microscopy showed that coumarin-6-loaded NPs@PDA could be internalized by human melanoma cell line A875 cells. The cellular uptake efficiency of NPs was greatly enhanced after PDA modification. The antitumor efficacy of the PTX-loaded NPs@PDA was investigated in vitro by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and in vivo by a xenograft tumor model. The PTX-loaded NPs@PDA could significantly inhibit tumor growth compared to Taxol ® and precursor PTX-loaded NPs. All the results suggested that the PTX-loaded MPEG- b -PCL NPs that had their surfaces modified with PDA are promising nanocarriers for malignant melanoma therapy.

Surface modification of doxorubicin-loaded nanoparticles based on polydopamine with pH-sensitive property for tumor targeting therapy

“…The C 1s of bare NPs has three resolved peaks: O–C=O (288.21 eV), C–O/C–N (286.06 eV), and C–C (284.77 eV), however, after PDA modification of the NPs, a large proportion of the peak O–C=O (288.71 eV) was shielded (Kim et al., 2017 ; Šírová et al., 2017 ). For the PDA-FA-NPs and PDA-RGD-NPs, the intensity of the peak of O–C=O decreased, but the intensity of these peaks of C–O/C–N and C–C peaks increased, which further demonstrated the ligand FA and RGD were conjugated to PDA-NPs successively (Xiong et al., 2015 ; Zhao et al., 2017 ).…”

“…However, a lot of material surfaces (e.g. PLGA), cannot be modified directly for lack of reactive functional groups, which made the surface modification of nanoparticle be quite cumbersome (Xiong et al., 2015 ). Moreover, if the chemical properties of polymers were changed by adding ligands, prefunctionalized polymers could lose the capability to retain and encapsulate drug (Zhong et al., 2017b ).…”

<p>Near-Infrared Laser-Triggered, Self-Immolative Smart Polymersomes for in vivo Cancer Therapy</p>

“…7,8 Zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) is one of the widely used third-generation photosensitizer. 9,10 Höpfner et al found that tetratriethyleneoxysulfonyl substituted zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) is a promising photosensitizer for photodynamic treatment of esophageal cancer, and the growth inhibition of esophageal adenocarcinoma and squamous carcinoma using ZnPc (1-10 μM) under laser irradiation was >90%. 11 Though traditional nanocarriers can accumulate drugs at the lesion sites, they still face the challenge to effectively release the drugs from the carriers.…”

Paclitaxel-loaded star-shaped copolymer nanoparticles for enhanced malignant melanoma chemotherapy against multidrug resistance

“…Nevertheless, Polyoxyethylene castor oil causes severe side reactions (hypersensitivity, cardiotoxicity, peripheral neuropathy, etc.). 4 In order to reduce adverse events, researchers have endeavored to replace Polyoxyethylene castor oil for delivering PTX.…”