Near-Infrared Light-Activatable Melanized Paclitaxel Nano-Self-Assemblies for Synergistic Anti-tumor Therapy

Building self-assembly nanostructures is an important way to overcome the limitations of paclitaxel in tumor therapy.However,this strategy is also faced with challenges,such as difficulties in efficient release and the potential for drug resistance.Herein,we developed a near-infrared light-activatable melanized paclitaxel self-assembly nanoparticles for synergistic anti-tumor therapy.In this strategy,paclitaxel dimer prodrugs were synthesized and paclitaxel nanoparticles were obtained through self-assembly.Finally,the paclitaxel dimer nanoparticles were capped with polydopamine(PDA,melanoidin)and human serum albumin(HSA).The disulfide bonds in paclitaxel dimeric prodrug specifically respond to high concentrations of glutathione(GSH)and reactive oxygen species(ROS)in tumor cells.PDA enhances the biocompatibility of the drug molecules and imparts near-infrared photothermal conversion capability to the nano-self-assemblies.Both the in vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that this paclitaxel nanoprodrug exhibited enhanced tumor therapeutic efficacy under near-infrared light irradiation.

Recent advances in drug delivery applications of cubosomes,hexosomes,and solid lipid nanoparticles

The use of lipid nanocarriers for drug delivery applications is an active research area,and a great interest has particularly been shown in the past two decades.Among different lipid nanocarriers,ISAsomes(Internally self-assembled somes or particles),including cubosomes and hexosomes,and solid lipid nanoparticles(SLNs)have unique structural features,making them attractive as nanocarriers for drug delivery.In this contribution,we focus exclusively on recent advances in formation and characterization of ISAsomes,mainly cubosomes and hexosomes,and their use as versatile nanocarriers for different drug delivery applications.Additionally,the advantages of SLNs and their application in oral and pulmonary drug delivery are discussed with focus on the biological fates of these lipid nanocarriers in vivo.Despite the demonstrated advantages in in vitro and in vivo evaluations including preclinical studies,further investigations on improved understanding of the interactions of these nanoparticles with biological fuids and tissues of the target sites is necessary for effcient designing of drug nanocarriers and exploring potential clinical applications.