Recently, the combined therapy has become one of the main approaches in cancer treatment. Combining different approaches may provide a significant outcome by triggering several death mechanisms or causing increased damage of tumor cells without hurting healthy ones. The supramolecular nanoplatform based on a high-Z metal reported here is a suitable system for the targeted delivery of chemotherapeutic compounds, imaging, and an enhanced radiotherapy outcome. HfO2 nanoparticles coated with oleic acid and a monomethoxypoly(ethylene glycol)-poly(ε-caprolactone) copolymer shell (nanoplatform) are able to accumulate inside cancer cells and release doxorubicin (DOX) under specific conditions. Neither uncoated nor coated nanoparticles show any cytotoxicity in vitro. DOX loaded onto a nanoplatform demonstrates a lower IC50 value than pure DOX. X-ray irradiation of cancer cells loaded with a nanoplatform shows a higher death rate than that for cells without nanoparticles. These results provide an important foundation for the development of complex nanoscale systems for combined cancer treatment.
Keywords: cancer therapy; coating; combined therapy; drug delivery; hafnium oxide nanoparticles; nanoplatform; radiosensitization; reactive oxygen species.