Abstract
Targeted delivery and smart response of nanomedicine hold great promise to improve the therapeutic efficacy and alleviate the side effects of chemotherapy agents in cancer treatment. While a few research systems about organic nanomedicines with these properties have limited the development prospect of nanomedicines. In the present study, folic acid (FA) targeted delivery and GSH (glutathione) smart responsive nanomedicine was rationally designed for paclitaxel (PTX) delivery in the treatment of lung cancer. Compared with other stimuli responsive nanomedicines, this nano-carrier was not only sensitive to biologically relevant GSH for on demand drug release but also biodegradable into biocompatible by products after fulfilling its delivering task. The nanomedicine can firstly enter into tumor cells via FA and its receptor mediated endocytosis. After lysosomes escape, the PLGA (poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanomedicine was triggered by the higher level of GSH and released its cargo in tumor microenvironment. In vitro and in vivo results revealed that the PLGA nanomedicine not only can inhibit the proliferation and promote the apoptosis of lung cancer cells greatly, but also possesses less toxic side effects when compared with free PTX. Therefore, the proposed drug delivery system demonstrates the encouraging potential for multifunctional nano-platform applicable to enhance the bioavailability and reduce the side effects of chemotherapy agents.