Background: The management of metastatic cancer remains a major challenge in cancer therapy worldwide. The targeted delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs through rationally designed formulations is one potential therapeutic option. Notably, excipient-free nanodispersions that are entirely composed of pharmaceutically active molecules have been evaluated as promising candidates for the next generation of drug formulations. Formulated from the self-assembly of drug molecules, these nanodispersions enable the safe and effective delivery of therapeutic drugs to local disease lesions. Here, we developed a novel and green approach for preparing nanoparticles via the self-assembly of rhein (RHE) and doxorubicin (DOX) molecules, named RHE/DOX nanoparticles (RD NPs); this assembly was associated with the interaction force and did not involve any organic solvents.
Results: According to molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, DOX molecules tend to assemble around RHE molecules through intermolecular forces. This intermolecular retention of DOX was further improved by the nanosizing effect of RD NPs. Compared to free DOX, RD NPs exerted a slightly stronger inhibitory effect on 4T1 cells in the scratch healing assay. As a dual drug-loaded nanoformulation, the efficacy of RD NPs against tumor cells in vitro was synergistically enhanced. Compared to free DOX, the combination of DOX and RHE in nanoparticles exerted a synergistic effect with a combination index (CI) value of 0.51 and showed a stronger ability to induce cell apoptosis. Furthermore, the RD NP treatment not only effectively suppressed primary tumor growth but also significantly inhibited tumor metastasis both in vitro and in vivo, with a better safety profile.
Conclusions: The generation of pure nanodrugs via a self-assembly approach might hold promise for the development of more efficient and novel excipient-free nanodispersions, particularly for two small molecular antitumor drugs that potentially exert synergistic antiproliferative effects on metastatic breast cancer.
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Posted 30 Jul, 2020
On 26 Aug, 2020
On 15 Aug, 2020
Received 31 Jul, 2020
Invitations sent on 26 Jul, 2020
On 26 Jul, 2020
On 24 Jul, 2020
On 23 Jul, 2020
On 23 Jul, 2020
On 06 Jun, 2020
Received 05 Jun, 2020
Received 26 May, 2020
Received 26 May, 2020
On 11 May, 2020
On 11 May, 2020
On 01 Apr, 2020
Invitations sent on 13 Mar, 2020
On 04 Mar, 2020
On 04 Mar, 2020
On 03 Mar, 2020
On 03 Mar, 2020
Posted 30 Jul, 2020
On 26 Aug, 2020
On 15 Aug, 2020
Received 31 Jul, 2020
Invitations sent on 26 Jul, 2020
On 26 Jul, 2020
On 24 Jul, 2020
On 23 Jul, 2020
On 23 Jul, 2020
On 06 Jun, 2020
Received 05 Jun, 2020
Received 26 May, 2020
Received 26 May, 2020
On 11 May, 2020
On 11 May, 2020
On 01 Apr, 2020
Invitations sent on 13 Mar, 2020
On 04 Mar, 2020
On 04 Mar, 2020
On 03 Mar, 2020
On 03 Mar, 2020
Background: The management of metastatic cancer remains a major challenge in cancer therapy worldwide. The targeted delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs through rationally designed formulations is one potential therapeutic option. Notably, excipient-free nanodispersions that are entirely composed of pharmaceutically active molecules have been evaluated as promising candidates for the next generation of drug formulations. Formulated from the self-assembly of drug molecules, these nanodispersions enable the safe and effective delivery of therapeutic drugs to local disease lesions. Here, we developed a novel and green approach for preparing nanoparticles via the self-assembly of rhein (RHE) and doxorubicin (DOX) molecules, named RHE/DOX nanoparticles (RD NPs); this assembly was associated with the interaction force and did not involve any organic solvents.
Results: According to molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, DOX molecules tend to assemble around RHE molecules through intermolecular forces. This intermolecular retention of DOX was further improved by the nanosizing effect of RD NPs. Compared to free DOX, RD NPs exerted a slightly stronger inhibitory effect on 4T1 cells in the scratch healing assay. As a dual drug-loaded nanoformulation, the efficacy of RD NPs against tumor cells in vitro was synergistically enhanced. Compared to free DOX, the combination of DOX and RHE in nanoparticles exerted a synergistic effect with a combination index (CI) value of 0.51 and showed a stronger ability to induce cell apoptosis. Furthermore, the RD NP treatment not only effectively suppressed primary tumor growth but also significantly inhibited tumor metastasis both in vitro and in vivo, with a better safety profile.
Conclusions: The generation of pure nanodrugs via a self-assembly approach might hold promise for the development of more efficient and novel excipient-free nanodispersions, particularly for two small molecular antitumor drugs that potentially exert synergistic antiproliferative effects on metastatic breast cancer.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
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