The Effect of Prostate Cancer-Targeting Doxorubicin Nanomicelles Combined with Photothermal Therapy on Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

Abstract

The present study investigated a combination of prostate cancer-targeting doxorubicin (DOX) nanomicelles with photothermal therapy of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) in vitro and in vivo. Nanomicelles formed by the self-assembly of superparamagnetic ferrite, polyethyleneimine, and polyethylene glycol were used as the carriers, and the chemotherapy drug DOX was embedded in the nanomicelles. The photothermal properties of the nanomicelles and the toxic effects of prostate cancer-targeting nanomicelles were evaluated. The therapeutic effects in the BP@PGE, BP@PGE+NIR, BP@PGE-dox, and BP@PGE-dox+NIR groups were compared. Prostate cancer-targeting DOX nanomicelles were successfully formed. The drug release was stable, and the cytotoxicity and blood compatibility tests demonstrated that the prostate cancer-targeting DOX nanomicelles were safe for normal cells. The temperature of BP@PEG was increased to 52 °C upon a laser irradiation of 808 nm at a power density of 1.5 W/cm2; however, the temperature of BP-DOX was increased to 48 °C within 5 min. DOX loading did not influence the photothermal performance of the nanomaterials. The in vitro and in vivo studies showed that the prostate cancer-targeting DOX nanomicelles combined with photothermal therapy were an effective treatment for CRPC. Prostate cancer-targeting DOX nanomicelles had no systemic toxicity to the organism and ensured safe biological application of these agents.