Targeted biomimetic hollow mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles for delivery of doxorubicin to colon adenocarcinoma: In vitro and in vivo evaluation

Abstract

Hollow mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles (HMOSNPs) have provided unique opportunities to improve therapeutic efficacy of the encapsulated drugs due to versatile hybrid frameworks and tunable pore sizes, biodegradable nature and intelligent performance. In the current study, we have designed HMOSNPs capped with red blood cell (RBC) membrane to provide biomimetic RBC-coated HMOS platform with controlled glutathione (GSH)-responsive doxorubicin (DOX)-releasing performance. DNA aptamer against MUC-1 receptor was used to prepare the targeted system (Apt-RBC-HMOS@DOX) for the guided delivery of DOX to colorectal tumor cells. Experimental data indicated that MUC1 aptamer could particularly facilitate drug uptake the designed biomimetic nanoparticles into HT29 and C26 cells. Moreover, targeted Apt-RBC-HMOS@DOX system remarkably enhanced tumor targeting capability in C26 tumor bearing mice compared to non-targeted RBC-HMOS@DOX and free drug. GSH-responsive Apt-RBC-HMOS@DOX system also reduced DOX-induced toxicity in terms of tumor growth suppression and survival rate, proposing its potential to translate in cancer therapy. • The efficacy of GSH-responsive Apt-RBC-HMOS@DOX system was studied for first time. • RBC membrane was used to provide desirable biomimetic intelligent platform. • MUC1 aptamer was administered to provide guided selective DOX delivery. • Cell internalization of targeted organosilica was higher than non-targeted one. • Targeted GSH-responsive HMOS displayed the effective tumor growth suppression.