Triglyceride-Mimetic Structure-Gated Prodrug Nanoparticles for Smart Cancer Therapy

J Med Chem. 2021 Nov 11;64(21):15936-15948. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c01328. Epub 2021 Nov 1.

Abstract

Off-target drug release and insufficient drug delivery are the main obstacles for effective anticancer chemotherapy. Prodrug-based self-assembled nanoparticles bioactivated under tumor-specific conditions are one of the effective strategies to achieve on-demand drug release and effective tumor accumulation. Herein, stimuli-activable prodrugs are designed yielding smart tumor delivery by combination of the triglyceride-mimic (TG-mimetic) prodrug structure and disulfide bond. Surprisingly, these prodrugs can self-assemble into uniform nanoparticles (NPs) with a high drug loading (over 40%) and accumulate in tumor sites specifically. The super hydrophobic TG structure can act as a gate that senses lipase to selectively control over NP dissociation and affect the glutathione-triggered prodrug activation. In addition, the impacts of the double bonds in the prodrug NPs on parent drug release and the following cytotoxicity, pharmacokinetics, and antitumor efficiency are further demonstrated. Our findings highlight the promising potential of TG-mimetic structure-gated prodrug nanoparticles for tumor-specific drug delivery.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antineoplastic Agents / chemistry
  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacokinetics
  • Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Drug Carriers
  • Drug Liberation
  • Drug Synergism
  • Humans
  • Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Molecular Mimicry*
  • Molecular Structure
  • Nanoparticles / chemistry*
  • Nanoparticles / therapeutic use
  • Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Prodrugs / chemistry*
  • Prodrugs / therapeutic use
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Triglycerides / chemistry*
  • Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Drug Carriers
  • Prodrugs
  • Triglycerides