Transactivator of transcription (TAT) peptide– chitosan functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes as a potential drug delivery vehicle for cancer therapy

Abstract

Carbon nanotube (CNT)-based drug delivery vehicles might find great potential in cancer therapy via the combination of chemotherapy with photothermal therapy due to the strong optical absorbance of CNTs in the near-infrared region. However, the application of CNTs in cancer therapy was considerably constrained by their lack of solubility in aqueous medium, as well as the cytotoxicity caused by their hydrophobic surface. Intracellular delivery efficiency is another factor determining the application potential of CNTs in cancer therapy. In the present study, low-molecular-weight chitosan conjugated with transactivator of transcription (TAT) peptide was used for noncovalent functionalization of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), aiming at providing a more efficient drug delivery vehicle for cancer therapy. The TAT–chitosan-conjugated MWCNTs (MWCNTs-TC) were further investigated for their water solubility, cytotoxicity, cell-penetrating capability, and accumulation in tumor. It was found that MWCNTs-TC were essentially nontoxic with satisfying water solubility, and they were more efficient in terms of cancer-targeted intracellular transport both in vitro and in vivo as compared with chitosan-modified MWCNTs (MWCNTs-CS), suggesting the great application potential of MWCNTs-TC in cancer therapy.

Keywords:

• carbon nanotube
• TAT
• chitosan
• drug delivery

Acknowledgments

This research was jointly supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin (grant number: 11JCZDJC20300), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers: 81271693 and 31200674), the Peking Union Medical College Youth Fund, and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (grant number: 3332013060).

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.