Abstract
We previously reported that cholesteryl pullulan (CHP) derivatives were effective carriers drug delivery systems in targeting cancer cells. We have now synthesized folic acid-conjugated CHP hydrogel nanoparticles (FACHP). FA-CHP complexed with the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) show a higher cytotoxicity than CHP complexed with DOX in in vitro studies. The expression of a folate receptor (FR) is elevated in many cancers; in this case, confocal image analysis revealed that FA-CHP complexed with DOX exhibited greater cellular uptake than CHP complexed with DOX in human epidermal carcinoma (KB) cells over-expressing surface FR. In vivo studies showed that the increase of tumor volume in a nude mice xenograft model was significantly suppressed. Accordingly, FA-CHP may be an effective vehicle for the delivery of anticancer drugs and has a potential application in the treatment of overexpressing FR solid tumor cells.
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