Systemic delivery of micelles loading with paclitaxel using N-succinyl-palmitoyl-chitosan decorated with cRGDyK peptide to inhibit non-small-cell lung cancer.

This study aimed to prepare efficient cRGDyK peptide-decorated micelles for the targeted therapy of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). An amphiphilic copolymer N-succinyl-palmitoyl-chitosan (SPCS) was synthesized and characterized. cRGDyK peptide is a ligand that can target tumors via specific binding integrin receptor overexpressed on tumor neovascularization and cells. cRGDyK-functionalized SPCS micelles loaded with paclitaxel (PTX/cRGDyK-SPCS) were prepared by film dispersion method and then characterized according to morphology, size, and zeta potential. PTX/cRGDyK-SPCS micelles presented pH-triggered drug release behavior under acidic conditions. The accumulation of micelles detected by laser confocal fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry showed that cRGDyK-SPCS micelles were easily taken up by A549 cells marked with the luciferase gene (luc-A549). Meanwhile, co-localization of the micelles and lysosomes was recorded dynamically using a live cell station. MTT assays and cell apoptosis studies revealed that cell viability was significantly inhibited by PTX/cRGDyK-SPCS micelles. More importantly, in vivo animal studies showed that cRGDyK-SPCS micelles mainly accumulated in the orthotopic tumor site. PTX/cRGDyK-SPCS micelles exhibited better anti-tumor activity in subcutaneous and orthotopic lung tumors compared with PTX/SPCS micelles and Taxol(®). These results suggested that PTX/cRGDyK-SPCS micelles had better cancer targeting capacity and superior anti-tumor efficacy. Thus, these micelles have great potential as novel carriers in delivering anti-tumor drugs.