Self-assembled amphiphilic copolymers–doxorubicin conjugated nanoparticles for gastric cancer therapy with low in vivo toxicity and high efficacy

Abstract

Amphiphilic copolymers have long been utilized to turn hydrophobic anticancer drugs into nanoparticles administered to patients with cancer. A lack of stability in these monotherapies may be blamed for their poor clinical results in patients with cancer. We propose novel nanotherapies based on polymeric small prodrugs that preserve pharmacologic effectiveness while significantly reducing the toxicity of the fabricated drugs in animals to overcome this problem. Doxorubicin is attached to the end of the PLA fragments through a hydrolyzable ester bond utilizing methoxypolyethylene glycol-block-poly(d, l-lactic acid) (mPEG-PCL(2K)) with conjugates to mimic the self-assembly of colloidal nanotherapies. In a gastric cancer xenograft model, this nanotherapy displays a long-lasting suppression of tumor growth once a reasonable dosage is administered. Our findings imply that a toxic chemical and hydrophobic can be converted into therapeutic effective self-delivery nanotreatment.

Keywords:

• Doxorubicin
• nanotherapy
• self-assembly
• polymer-drug conjugate
• gastric cancer

Data availability statement

Not applicable

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.