International Journal of Nanomedicine (Oct 2020)
Gold Nanoparticles Mediated Drug-Gene Combinational Therapy for Breast Cancer Treatment
Abstract
Binita Shrestha,1 Lijun Wang,1 Hao Zhang,2 Chiung Yu Hung,2 Liang Tang1 1Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA; 2Department of Biology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USACorrespondence: Liang TangDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Texas at San Antonio, One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX 78249, USATel +1 210-458-7995Email [email protected]: Cancer is a complex heterogeneous disease to which singular modes of treatment mostly fail to produce a desired therapeutic efficacy. Targeting different cellular pathways using combinational therapies has been gaining popularity in cancer treatment, with the added benefit of reducing dosage and side effects.Methods: A gold nanoparticle-mediated drug delivery nanoplatform was developed for co-delivery of doxorubicin and polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) siRNA. Gold nanoparticles were coated with polyethyleneimine to facilitate assembly of PLK1 on the surface. Doxorubicin was loaded on nanoparticles through a pH-sensitive linker with a thiol group at one terminal end for controlled release.Results: The therapeutic efficiency of this co-delivery system was evaluated in 2D and 3D cultured systems. The reduced IC50 value clearly demonstrated the synergistic effect of combined drug and gene delivery over their individual delivery in a cancer treatment model.Conclusion: This study may provide an adaptable, facile platform to investigate drug-siRNA combinations for cancer inhibition.Keywords: nanomedicine, cancer therapy, pH-responsive, co-delivery, PLK1
