Photothermal/matrix metalloproteinase-2 dual-responsive gelatin nanoparticles for breast cancer treatment

摘要

The chemotherapy combined with photothermal therapy has been a favorable approach for the treatment of breast cancer.In present study,nanoparticles with the characteristics of photothermal/matrix metalloproteinase-2(MMP-2)dual-responsive,tumor targeting,and size-variability were designed for enhancing the antitumor efficacy and achieving"on-demand"drug release markedly.Based on the thermal sensitivity of gelatin,we designed a size-variable gelatin nanoparticle(GNP)to encapsulate indocyanine green(ICG)and doxorubicin(DOX).Under an 808 nm laser irradiation,GNP-DOX/ICG responded photothermally and swelled in size from 71.58?4.28 to 160.80?9.51 nm,which was beneficial for particle retention in the tumor sites and release of the loaded therapeutics.Additionally,GNP-DOX/ICG showed a size reduction of the particles to 33.24?4.11 nm and further improved drug release with the degradation of overexpressed MMP-2 in tumor.In the subsequently performed in vitro experiments,it was confirmed that GNP-DOX/ICG could provide a therapeutic effect that was enhanced and synergistic.Consequently,GNP-DOX/ICG could efficiently suppress the growth of 4 T1 tumor in vivo.In conclusion,this study may provide a promising strategy in the rational design of drug delivery nanosystems based on gelatin for chemo-photothermal therapy to achieve synergistically enhanced therapeutic efficacy against breast cancer.