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Application of Paclitaxel-loaded EGFR Peptide-conjugated Magnetic Polymeric Liposomes for Liver Cancer Therapy

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Summary

Developing the methodologies that allow for safe and effective delivery of therapeutic drugs to target sites is a very important research area in cancer therapy. In this study, polyethylene glycol (PEG)-coated magnetic polymeric liposome (MPL) nanoparticles (NPs) assembled from octadecyl quaternized carboxymethyl chitosan (OQC), PEGylated OQC, cholesterol, and magnetic NPs, and functionalized with epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR) peptide, were successfully prepared for in-vivo liver targeting. The two-step liver targeting strategy, based on both magnetic force and EGFR peptide conjugation, was evaluated in a subcutaneous hepatocellular carcinoma model of nude mouse. The results showed that EGFR-conjugated MPLs not only accumulated in the liver by magnetic force, but could also diffuse into tumor cells as a result of EGFR targeting. In addition, paclitaxel (PTX) was incorporated into small EGFR-conjugated MPLs (102.0±0.7 nm), resulting in spherical particles with high drug encapsulation efficiency (>90%). The use of the magnetic targeting for enhancing the transport of PTX-loaded EGFR-conjugated MPLs to the tumor site was further confirmed by detecting PTX levels. In conclusion, PTX-loaded EGFR-conjugated MPLs could potentially be used as an effective drug delivery system for targeted liver cancer therapy.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Instrumental Analysis Centre of Shanghai University for providing materials characterization.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Emergency, The First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350005, China

    Zhen-lv Lin & Jie Xie

  2. Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350005, China

    Jian Ding, Shan-shan He & Xun-ru Huang

  3. Department of Pharmacy, Qingdao Seventh People’s Hospital, Qingdao, 266034, China

    Guo-ping Sun

  4. Department of Gastroenterology, Union Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350001, China

    Dan Li

  5. State Key Laboratory of Oncogenes and Related Genes, Shanghai Cancer Institute, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200032, China

    Xiao-fei Liang

  6. Department of Gastroenterology, Hospital of Fujian Normal University, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, 350007, China

    Jie Xie

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  1. Zhen-lv Lin
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  2. Jian Ding
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  4. Dan Li
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  6. Xiao-fei Liang
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  7. Xun-ru Huang
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  8. Jie Xie
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Correspondence to Jian Ding or Dan Li.

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Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

This research was supported by the Research Program Foundation of the Department of Education of Fujian Province for Young Talents (No. JK2017021) and the Training Program of Department of Health of Fujian Province for Young Talents (No. 2017-ZQN-41).

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Lin, Zl., Ding, J., Sun, Gp. et al. Application of Paclitaxel-loaded EGFR Peptide-conjugated Magnetic Polymeric Liposomes for Liver Cancer Therapy. CURR MED SCI 40, 145–154 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-020-2158-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11596-020-2158-4

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