Multifunctional gold nanorods and docetaxel-encapsulated liposomes for combined thermo- and chemotherapy

Abstract

Haiying Hua,1,* Nan Zhang,2,3,* Dan Liu,1 Lili Song,1 Tuanbing Liu,2,3 Shasha Li,2,3 Yongxing Zhao2,3 1Academy of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, 3Key Laboratory of Targeting Therapy and Diagnosis for Critical Diseases, Zhengzhou, Henan, China *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Personalized and precise nanomedicines are highly demanded for today’s medical needs. Liposomes are ideal candidates for the construction of multifunctional drug delivery systems. In this study, a liposome was used to improve the clinical issues of docetaxel (Doc), a potent antimitotic chemotherapy for prostate cancer (PC). RLT, a low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR)-binding peptide, and PEG were conjugated to the liposomes, and gold nanorods (GNRs) were also incorporated into the liposomes. The GNRs/Doc-liposome-RLT (GNRs/DocL-R) was tested in PC-3 cells and in PC-3 tumor-bearing nude mice. Results showed that GNRs/DocL-R possessed a diameter approximately 163.15±1.83 nm and a zeta potential approximately -32.8±2.16 mV. GNRs/DocL-R showed enhanced intracellular entrance, increased accumulation in the implanted tumor region, and the highest tumor inhibition in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, the multifunctional GNRs/DocL-R was a potential cancer treatment via combined chemo- and thermotherapy. Keywords: gold nanorods, docetaxel, liposomes, prostate cancer, LDL receptor targeting

Keywords

• Gold nanorods
• Docetaxel
• Liposomes
• Prostate cancer