Nano micelles of cellulose-graft-poly (l-lactic acid) anchored with epithelial cell adhesion antibody for enhanced drug loading and anti-tumor effect

Abstract

Biocompatibility and targeted therapy are the demand by modern chemotherapy drugs. Meanwhile, the utilizations of biopolymer or environmentally friendly polymer are also the key issues for sustainable development. We have constructed a new drug delivery system with targeted and controlled release capabilities. It has been confirmed that an environmentally friendly polymer (CMC-g-PLA) obtained by grafting polylactic acid on a carboxymethyl cellulose biopolymer has an amphiphilic property and is easy to form micelles, thereby being useful as a hydrophobic drug carrier. In order to have the function of targeted therapy, anti-EpCAM antibody was anchored on the polymer chain of carboxymethyl cellulose by amidation reaction. Doxorubicin and HepG2 cells were used as the model anticancer drug and tumor targeting cells, respectively. The nano scale core-shell structure, critical micelle concentration, drug loading and encapsulation efficiency were studied by TEM, pyrene fluorescent probe method and ultraviolet standard curve method, respectively. Furthermore, the pH induced release function experiments, cytotoxicity experiments and in vivo tumor treatments experiments on mice. The results show that the drug carrier with antibody prepared by us can effectively deliver hydrophobic drugs to specific tumor sites and increase the effect of tumor treatment. This versatile design provides a new solution for future cancer treatments.