Issue 8, 2020

Electrospray-based synthesis of fluorescent poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles for the efficient delivery of an anticancer drug and self-monitoring its effect in drug-resistant breast cancer cells

Abstract

A novel approach used to synthesize antimetabolite-conjugated and intense blue fluorescence-emitting smart polymeric nanoparticles is reported for the efficient delivery of anticancer drugs and self-monitoring their effect in drug-resistant metastatic breast cancer cells. Metastatic breast cancer is the deadliest cancer in women as chemotherapy does not perform well in its treatment. To prepare the drug-loaded fluorescent nanoparticles, the FDA-approved non-fluorescent poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) polymer was modified into a newly designed fluorescent PLGA polymer by the covalent conjugation of the biocompatible fluorophore 1-pyrenebutyric acid (PBA). The fluorescent PLGA–PBA polymer was then electrosprayed by applying a potential of 8.0 kV to synthesize mono-dispersed spherical fluorescent nanoparticles (size ∼40 nm). The surface of the PLGA–PBA nanoparticles was conjugated with the potent anticancer drug molecule methotrexate (MTX) through a linker molecule, ethylenediamine (EDA), to kill cancer cells. The fluorescence, FTIR, NMR, and mass spectroscopy results of PLGA–PBA and PLGA–PBA@MTX nanoparticles provided proof of the successful synthesis of PBA- and MTX-conjugated nanoparticles with stable fluorescence for monitoring the in vitro therapeutic effect. A significant internalization of the PLGA–PBA@MTX nanoparticles was observed inside MTX-resistant MDA-MB-231 and MCF7 cells predominantly via micropinocytosis. Since MTX is an analog of folic acid and encourages cell internalization through the FRα receptor, a higher population of PLGA–PBA@MTX nanoparticles was observed in MDA-MB-231 cells with higher cell cytotoxicity than in MCF-7 cells. The amide bond, which links the MTX molecules to the surface of the fluorescent PLGA–PBA nanoparticles, was found to be sensitive to acidic pH. The controlled release of MTX occurred at pH 6.0 for ∼6 days due to the acid-catalyzed amide bond hydrolysis. The lower IC50 value justified a high MTX loading (36%) with significant conjugation efficiency (91.4%), and a rapid drug release in acidic medium compared to that of the free MTX molecule and high apoptosis in the nanoparticle-treated cells were observed. This study presents the usefulness of an engineered nano-formulation in pH-sensitive drug release and tracking of the therapeutic response, which may provide potential benefit in breast cancer treatment.

Graphical abstract: Electrospray-based synthesis of fluorescent poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles for the efficient delivery of an anticancer drug and self-monitoring its effect in drug-resistant breast cancer cells

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
27 Aug 2020
Accepted
07 Okt 2020
First published
13 Okt 2020
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Mater. Adv., 2020,1, 3033-3048

Electrospray-based synthesis of fluorescent poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles for the efficient delivery of an anticancer drug and self-monitoring its effect in drug-resistant breast cancer cells

M. Chatterjee, R. Maity, S. Das, N. Mahata, B. Basu and N. Chanda, Mater. Adv., 2020, 1, 3033 DOI: 10.1039/D0MA00646G

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements