The present work aimed to study the feasibility of Angelica sinensis polysaccharide (ASP) as an instinctive liver targeting drug delivery carrier for oridonin (ORI) in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). ASP was reacted with deoxycholic acid (DOCA) via an esterification reaction to form an ASP-DOCA conjugate. ORI-loaded ASP-DOCA nanoparticles (ORI/ASP-DOCA NPs) were prepared by the thin-film water method, and their size was about 195 nm in aqueous solution. ORI/ASP-DOCA NPs had a drug loading capacity of up to 9.2%. The release of ORI in ORI/ASP-DOCA NPs was pH-dependent, resulting in rapid decomposition and accelerated drug release at acidic pH. ORI/ASP-DOCA NPs significantly enhanced the accumulation of ORI in liver tumors through ASGPR-mediated endocytosis. In vitro results showed that ORI/ASP-DOCA NPs increased cell uptake and apoptosis in HepG2 cells, and in vivo results showed that ORI/ASP-DOCA NPs caused effective tumor suppression in H22 tumor-bearing mice compared with free ORI. In short, ORI/ASP-DOCA NPs might be a simple, feasible, safe and effective ORI nano-drug delivery system that could be used for the targeted delivery and treatment of liver tumors.
Keywords: Angelica sinensis polysaccharide; antitumor; drug delivery; nano-carrier; oridonin; pH-sensitive.