Preparation and Evaluation of Thermosensitive Liposomes Encapsulating I-125-Labeled Doxorubicin Derivatives for Auger Electron Therapy

Abstract

Auger electrons (AEs) are very low-energy electrons emitted by radionuclides such as I-125 (125I). This energy is deposited across a small distance (125I-labeled doxorubicin (DOX) derivatives were developed for Auger electron therapy, targeting the DNA of cancer cells. A radioiodinated DOX derivative [125I]5 highly accumulated in the nuclei of cancer cells and showed potent cytotoxicity against Colon 26 cancer cells by AEs. Subsequently, [125I]5 was loaded into the TSLs with high encapsulation efficiency. Potent release of [125I]5 from TSLs was achieved with heating, whereas a decreased release was observed without heating. Furthermore, TSLs encapsulating [125I]5 showed a high uptake in the nuclei at 42 °C for 1 h. We supposed that [125I]5 was released by heating at 42 °C and accumulated in the nuclei in the cells. These results suggest that the combination of TSLs encapsulating [125I]5 and hyperthermia is an effective cancer therapy.

Keywords

• thermosensitive liposomes
• I-125-labeled doxorubicin derivatives
• Auger electron therapy
• hyperthermia