Dai, Yu, et al. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 105.9 (2016): 2949-2958.
A new multilayer nanoparticle was designed to enhance the anticancer ability of DOX and reduce its toxicity. It is composed of 4 different functional biomaterials, namely poly (D,L-lactide-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), soybean phosphatidylcholine (phosphatidylcholine), 1,2-distearoyl-n-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-carboxy-(polyethylene glycol)-2000 (DSPE-PEG-COOH) and 1,2-distearoyl-n-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-(biotin [polyethylene glycol]-2000) (DSPE-PEG-biotin). Specifically, PLGA was selected as the hydrophobic core due to its biodegradability and biocompatibility, as well as its promising ability to encapsulate large amounts of hydrophobic drugs; a lecithin monolayer was selected to encapsulate the PLGA core to enhance the encapsulation capacity and biocompatibility of PLGA NPs; DSPE-PEG-COOH can be inserted into the lecithin monolayer to form a PEG shell, which can enhance the stability of PLGA NPs by generating steric hindrance and electrostatic repulsion, and prolong the circulation time of PLGA NPs in vivo; DSPE-PEG-biotin is a novel targeting ligand, which can be used for active targeting of tumor cells and prolong their duration in the circulation system, as biotin is a small molecular weight ligand known to target the sodium-dependent multivitamin transporter (SMVT) on tumor cells, thanks to the presence of PEG chains known to reduce immune system recognition.
PLGA-lecithin-PEG-biotin (PLPB) core-shell nanoparticles were synthesized using PLGA, soy lecithin, DSPE-PEG-COOH, and DSPE-PEG-biotin as raw materials using an improved nanoprecipitation technique combined with self-assembly. First, PLGA was dissolved in acetone at a concentration of 5 mg/mL to form the oil phase. Phosphatidylcholine, DSPE-PEG-COOH, DSPE-PEG-biotin, and Kolliphor P188 were dissolved in 4% ethanol-water solutions at concentrations of 0.6 mg/mL, 0.02 mg/mL, and 5 mg/mL, respectively. The aqueous phase (30 mL) was then heated to 65°C. The oil phase (6 mL) was then dropped (1 mL/min) into the preheated aqueous phase under gentle stirring. The PLP/PLPB NPs were continuously stirred for 2 h to allow for self-assembly and evaporate the organic solvent.
