Novel nanoparticles based on Poloxamer 407 and vegetable oil were produced by high pressure homogenization. Functionalization of those nanoparticles was made by incorporation of folic acid (FA)-Poloxamer 407 conjugate. These nanoparticles showed suitable characteristics for intravenous therapeutic applications similarly to PEGylated albumin-based nanoparticles, previously described by our research group. Here, we found that the absence of albumin at the interface of Poloxamer 407-based nanoparticles improves the overall process of in vitro cellular uptake and nanoparticle disruption inside cancer cells (folate receptor, FR, positive cells). The results presented here suggest that interfacial composition of those nanoparticles is of paramount importance for drug trafficking inside cancer cells.
Keywords: cancer therapy; folic acid−Poloxamer 407 conjugate; folic acid−Poloxamer 407 nanoparticles; nanoparticle disruption; specific drug release.