Conjugate Micelles Research Articles

Recent Innovations in Cancer Chemotherapy by Nanomedicines

Background: Various drug delivery systems of antitumor drugs have been developed for past several decades. Nanomedicines, being one of promising choices, have been attracting much attention for the purpose of improving clinical use; because, they sometimes exhibit superior potentiality of enhanced efficacy and reduction of toxicity. Recently, many nanomedicines have been found to have useful results in the preclinical studies, and reached clinical trials or clinically-available stages. As there are few overviews for such situation, the brief explanation of such promising nanomedicines has been performed in this review. Methods: we focused on several types of antitumor drugs, therapeutic features of which were improved extensively by nano-technological approaches. As to each antitumor drug, physicochemical and antitumor characteristics and improved points in nanomedicines were briefly introduced by referring to main papers and patents. Results: Promising nanomedicines have been recently developed for doxorubicin, epirubicin, paclitaxel, cisplatin, oxaliplatin and SN-38, and they are now being in clinical trials or clinically used. The pharmacokinetic features are drastically improved in nanomedicines as compared with original drugs, leading to enhanced efficacy and reduced toxicity. The major reason is by passive drug targeting based on enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. At this late date, as antibody/drug conjugate micelles were found to show superior antitumor efficacy, active drug targeting nanomedicines are expected as novel nanomedicines toward clinical use. Conclusion: This review made clear recent situations of promising nanomedicines of antitumor drugs. The concept of nanomedicines has been demonstrated to be a useful strategy because several of them have reached clinical stage. Nanomedicines with potential of passive targeting or active targeting are expected as superior cancer chemotherapy. Keywords: Clinical trial, key anticancer drug, nanodevice, nanomedicine.

Galactosylated alginate-curcumin micelles for enhanced delivery of curcumin to hepatocytes

Galactosylated alginate-curcumin conjugate (LANH2-Alg Ald-Cur) is synthesized for targeted delivery of curcumin to hepatocytes exploiting asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) on hepatocytes. The synthetic procedure includes oxidation of alginate (Alg), modification of lactobionic acid (LA), grafting of targeting group (modified lactobinic acid, LANH2) and conjugation of curcumin to alginate. Alginate-curcumin conjugate (Alg-Cur) without targeting group is also prepared for the comparison of properties. LANH2-Alg Ald-Cur self assembles to micelle with diameter of 235±5nm and zeta potential of ⿿29mV in water. Cytotoxicity analysis demonstrates enhanced toxicity of LANH2-Alg Ald-Cur over Alg-Cur on HepG2 cells. Cellular uptake studies confirm that LANH2-Alg Ald-Cur can selectively recognize HepG2 cells and shows higher internalization than Alg-Cur conjugate. Results indicate that LANH2-Alg Ald-Cur conjugate micelles are suitable candidates for targeted delivery of curcumin to HepG2 cells.

Acetal-linked polymeric prodrug micelles for enhanced curcumin delivery

On-demand curcumin delivery via stimuli-responsive micellar nanocarriers holds promise for addressing its solubility and stability problem. Polymer-curcumin prodrug conjugate micelle is one of such nanosystems. The diversity of linker and conjugation chemistry enabled the generation and optimization of different curcumin micelles with tunable stimuli-responsiveness and delivery efficiency. The aim of the current work was to generate and assess acetal-linked polymeric micelles to enrich the pH-responsive curcumin delivery platforms. Curcumin was slightly modified prior to conjugating to amphiphilic methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(lactic acid) (mPEG-PLA) copolymer via an acetal bond, whereas an ester bond-linked conjugate was used as the control. The acetal-containing micelles showed a hydrodynamic diameter of 91.1±2.9(nm) and the accompanying core size of 63.5±7.1 (nm) with a zeta potential of −10.9±0.7(mV). Both control and pH-labile micelles displayed similar critical micelle concentration at 1.6μM. The acetal-containing nanocarriers exhibited a pH-dependent drug release behavior, which was faster at lower pH values. The cytotoxicity study in HepG2 cells revealed a significantly lower IC50 at 51.7±9.0(μM) for acetal-linked micelles in contrast to the control at 103.0±17.8(μM), but the polymer residue showed no cytotoxicity upon drug release. The acetal-linked micellar nanocarrier could be a useful addition to the spectrum of currently available stimuli-responsive curcumin nano-formulations.

On-demand combinational delivery of curcumin and doxorubicin via a pH-labile micellar nanocarrier

The combinational delivery of doxorubicin and curcumin in a physically loaded nanocarrier offers the benefits of enhanced therapeutic efficacy and reduced adverse effects, but this strategy often suffers from the slow drug release followed by delayed onset of pharmacological action. This work reported the hydrazone-linked polymer–curcumin conjugate micelles containing physically loaded doxorubicin to address this problem; the ester-linked conjugate micelles were produced as the control. The pH-labile spherical micelles were less than 100 nm with a loading at 9.3±0.5% (w/w, Curcumin) and 2.5±0.1(w/w, Doxorubicin). Both agents were released at a faster rate in the pH-labile micelles compared to the control. The confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed a time-dependent co-localization of both agents in HepG2 cells. The IC50 of pH-labile conjugate micelles without doxorubicin in HepG2 cells was 27.7±5.3 (μM), whereas the co-loaded micelles was lowered to 10.8±3.4 (μM) (Cur-equivalent dose). The combination index calculation demonstrated a synergistic action of both agents in the co-loading nanocarrier. The current work provided an efficient nanocarrier system to achieve rapid on-demand drug release without onset delay of therapeutic action, which might add value to the clinical translation of the combinational delivery systems.

Phospholipid-like amphiphilic polymer conjugate micelles for on-demand intracellular curcumin delivery

Phospholipid-like amphiphilic polymer conjugate micelles for on-demand intracellular curcumin delivery

Two-photon microscopy of a Flt1 peptide-hyaluronate conjugate.

Two-photon microscopy was performed to visualize ocular distribution of Flt1 peptide-hyaluronate (HA) conjugate micelles for eye drop treatment of corneal neovascularization. Flt1 peptide-HA conjugate micelles were topically administered to the eye for two-photon microscopy and antiangiogenic effect assessment after silver nitrate cauterization. In vivo two-photon microscopy revealed that Flt1 peptide-HA conjugate micelles were absorbed and remained on the corneal epithelia with an increased residence time, facilitating the corneal delivery of carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE) as a model drug. Furthermore, repeated eye drops of Flt1 peptide-HA conjugate micelles showed comparable therapeutic effect to the subconjunctival injection on the corneal neovascularization. We confirmed the feasibility of Flt1 peptide-HA conjugate micelles for eye drop treatment of corneal neovascularization.

Gum arabic-curcumin conjugate micelles with enhanced loading for curcumin delivery to hepatocarcinoma cells

Curcumin is conjugated to gum arabic, a highly water soluble polysaccharide to enhance the solubility and stability of curcumin. Conjugation of curcumin to gum arabic is confirmed by 1H NMR, fluorescence and UV spectroscopy studies. The conjugate self assembles to spherical nano-micelles (270±5nm) spontaneously, when dispersed in aqueous medium. Spherical morphology of the self assembled conjugate is evidenced by field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The self assembly of the amphiphilic conjugate into micelle in aqueous medium significantly enhances the solubility (900 fold of that of free curcumin) and stability of curcumin in physiological pH. The anticancer activity of the conjugate micelles is found to be higher in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells than in human breast carcinoma (MCF-7) cells. The conjugate exhibits enhanced accumulation and toxicity in HepG2 cells due to the targeting efficiency of the galactose groups present in gum arabic.

Galactosylated pullulan–curcumin conjugate micelles for site specific anticancer activity to hepatocarcinoma cells

Galactosylated pullulan–curcumin conjugate (LANH2-Pu Ald-Cur SA) is developed for target specific delivery of curcumin to hepatocarcinoma cells by five step synthetic strategy, which includes oxidation of pullulan (Pu Ald), introduction of amino group to the targeting ligand (LANH2), grafting of the LANH2 to Pu Ald, modification of curcumin (Cur SA) and conjugation of Cur SA to pullulan. Nongalactosylated pullulan–curcumin conjugate (Pu-Cur SA) is also prepared to compare the enhancement in cytotoxicity offered by the targeting group. Both LANH2-Pu Ald-Cur SA and Pu-Cur SA conjugates could self assemble to micelle in water with hydrodynamic diameters of 355±9nm and 363±10nm, respectively. Both conjugates show spherical morphology and enhance stability of curcumin in physiological pH. Compared to Pu-Cur SA, LANH2-Pu Ald-Cur SA exhibits higher toxicity and internalization towards HepG2 cells. This indicates the enhanced uptake of LANH2-Pu Ald-Cur SA conjugate via ASGPR (asialoglycoprotein receptor) mediated endocytosis into HepG2 cells.

Synthesis, characterization and anti-cancer activity of Pluronic F68–curcumin conjugate micelles

Curcumin (CUR), a nontoxic polyphenol derived from the rhizome of turmeric (Curcuma longa), has been recognized as an anti-cancer and chemo-preventative agent. However, its clinical application for cancer treatment has been greatly limited due to its poor water-solubility and low bioavailability. To tackle this problem, Pluronic F68–CUR (F68–CUR) conjugate micelles, which are amphiphilic copolymers, were designed and synthesized in this study. These highly stable micelles with CUR concentrated in the core were formulated using the solvent evaporation method and were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance. Physicochemical characterization of F68–CUR conjugate micelles revealed that high drug loading content (DL%; 0.248 mg CUR/1 mg F68) was achieved, and the average particle size of micelles was 115.2 ± 3.0 nm. Compared with free CUR, a significantly higher cytotoxicity against human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231 was observed in F68–CUR conjugate micelles. The IC50 value of F68–CUR conjugate micelles was 1.95-fold lower than that of free CUR, indicating that the anti-cancer activity of CUR was significantly improved in the micelles. Furthermore, apoptotic studies demonstrated that F68–CUR conjugate micelles induced more cell apoptosis than that of free CUR. Taken together, these results demonstrate that F68–CUR conjugate micelles are promising to improve the clinical effectiveness of CUR in cancer treatment.

Core-Cross-Linking Accelerates Antitumor Activities of Paclitaxel-Conjugate Micelles to Prostate Multicellular Tumor Spheroids: A Comparison of 2D and 3D Models.

The 2D monolayer cell culture model is often the first step in the prediction of the success or failure of a nanoparticle-based drug delivery system. However, there is often poor translation between the 2D monolayer in vitro results and the nanoparticle-drug performance in vivo. One possible way of bridging this gap is the use of multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTSs) as an intermediate in vitro model due to its 3D structure. This paper aims to quantify and compare the results obtained from traditional 2D monolayer cell cultures and 3D MCTS by studying the cytotoxic effects of free paclitaxel (PTX) and paclitaxel, which has been conjugated to a poly(ethylene glycol methyl ether acrylate)-b-poly(carboxyethyl acrylate) (POEGMEA-b-PCEA-PTX) block copolymer and self-assembled to give a micellar delivery system. The core of the micelle was cross-linked with a diamino nondegradable cross-linker to compare the effects of micelle stability on the results. Although the 2D prostate tumor cell culture results indicated that all micellar variants (IC50: 193-271 nM) were significantly less toxic than free paclitaxel (IC50: 15.2 nM), the micelles showed faster and higher cytotoxicity than free PTX in the 3D prostate MCTS. The cross-linking of micelles even showed accelerated antitumor activities to the MCTS compared with un-cross-linked micelles. The results indicate that DAO-cross-linked POEGMEA-b-PCEA-PTX conjugate micelles will be a useful nanodrug carrier for prostate cancer therapy. MCTS offers a very promising method of incorporating 3D structures into in vitro testing.

Anti-tumor activity of folate targeted biodegradable polymer–paclitaxel conjugate micelles on EMT-6 breast cancer model

Paclitaxel (PTX) is a first line chemotherapy drug for breast cancer. There have been few studies reported concerning the therapeutic efficacy of paclitaxel-conjugated polymeric micelles in breast cancer in vivo. Two kinds of PTX conjugate micelles, one of which (M(PTX)) contained 25 wt.% of PTX and the other (M(FA/PTX)) contained 22.5 wt.% of PTX and 1.4 wt.% of folate (FA), were prepared for cell apoptosis and anti-tumor activity evaluation on EMT-6 mice breast cancer models in comparison with 0.9 wt.% saline (control) and equivalent PTX. Cell apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry. Breast tumors were examined histologically with H&E staining and immunohistochemically by examining Bax and Bcl-2 expression. The survival status of tumor-bearing mice with different treatments was also examined. On day 5 of the drug administration, the average tumor masses were 0.49, 0.33, 0.22, and 0.18 g for the control, PTX, M(PTX) and M(FA/PTX) groups, respectively. The inhibition rates of tumor growth calculated for the three drug groups were 32.6%, 51.6% and 62.3%, respectively. The percentage of cell apoptosis based on flow cytometry was 1.0%, 36.6%, 55.9% and 66.1%, respectively, which showed statistically significant differences (p<0.05) between three drug groups and the control group. Bcl-2 expression of PTX and M(FA/PTX) groups was lower than control group (p<0.05). Bax expression of drug groups was higher than control group (p<0.05). At an equivalent paclitaxel dose of 26.7 mg/kg, the average survival time was 33 days, 31 days, 34 days and 42 days, respectively (p<0.05). The M(FA/PTX) have better anti-tumor activity and are promising in treatment of human breast cancers.

Effect of anionic PEGylated polypeptide on gene transfection mediated by glycolipid conjugate micelles.

To improve the gene transfection efficiency mediated by chitosan-g-stearic acid (CS) micelles, poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(γ-glutamic acid) (PG) was incorporated into a CS-based gene delivery system. CS/PG/pDNA complexes were prepared by ionic interaction. CS and PEGylated CS (PCS) micelles were introduced to prepare binary complexes for use as controls. CS/PG/pDNA complexes possessed similar sizes and presented as irregular spheroids in shape. The incorporation of PG into CS/pDNA complexes did not affect the ability of CS to compact pDNA and also showed a protective effect against DNase I based degradation of pDNA. Importantly, PG could increase gene transfection efficiency, which was also affected by the mixing methods used for the preparation of CS/PG/pDNA ternary complexes. The transfection efficiencies mediated by CS/PG/pDNA complexes against HEK293 and EC-1 cells reached up to 40.8% and 11.6%, respectively, which were much higher than those of CS/pDNA complexes (1.3% and 4.0%) and PCS/pDNA complexes (0.8% and 2.4%). In addition, the incorporation of PG into CS/pDNA complexes significantly enhanced cellular uptake in HEK293 and EC-1 cells and, additionally, improved endosomal escape and intracellular vector unpacking. However, the incorporation of PG reduced the cellular uptake of CS/PG/pDNA complexes in macrophages (RAW264.7 cells). It was further demonstrated that, in addition to a nonspecific charge-mediated binding to cell membranes, a γ-PGA-specific receptor-mediated pathway was involved in the internalization of CS/PG/pDNA complexes. These results indicated that PG played multiple important roles in enhancing the transfection efficiency of CS/PG/pDNA complexes.

Triggered-release polymeric conjugate micelles for on-demand intracellular drug delivery

Nanoscale drug delivery platforms have been developed over the past four decades that have shown promising clinical results in several types of cancer and inflammatory disorders. These nanocarriers carrying therapeutic payloads are maximizing the therapeutic outcomes while minimizing adverse effects. Yet one of the major challenges facing drug developers is the dilemma of premature versus on-demand drug release, which influences the therapeutic regiment, efficacy and potential toxicity. Herein, we report on redox-sensitive polymer-drug conjugate micelles for on-demand intracellular delivery of a model active agent, curcumin. Biodegradable methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(lactic acid) copolymer (mPEG-PLA) was conjugated with curcumin via a disulfide bond or ester bond (control), respectively. The self-assembled redox-sensitive micelles exhibited a hydrodynamic size of 115.6 ± 5.9 (nm) with a zeta potential of −10.6 ± 0.7 (mV). The critical micelle concentration was determined at 6.7 ± 0.4 (μg mL−1). Under sink conditions with a mimicked redox environment (10 mM dithiothreitol), the extent of curcumin release at 48 h from disulfide bond-linked micelles was nearly three times higher compared to the control micelles. Such rapid release led to a lower half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) in HeLa cells at 18.5 ± 1.4 (μg mL−1), whereas the IC50 of control micelles was 41.0 ± 2.4 (μg mL−1). The cellular uptake study also revealed higher fluorescence intensity for redox-sensitive micelles. In conclusion, the redox-sensitive polymeric conjugate micelles could enhance curcumin delivery while avoiding premature release, and achieving on-demand release under the high glutathione concentration in the cell cytoplasm. This strategy opens new avenues for on-demand drug release of nanoscale intracellular delivery platforms that ultimately might be translated into pre-clinical and future clinical practice.

Preparation of pH Sensitive Pluronic-Docetaxel Conjugate Micelles to Balance the Stability and Controlled Release Issues.

A novel polymer-drug conjugate was prepared by the chemical reaction between the copolymer Pluronic P123 and the docetaxel via a pH sensitive hydrazone bond. These pluronic P123-docetaxel (DTX) conjugates (P123-DTX) could form the stable drug-loaded materials that can self-assemble into the defined nano-micelles in aqueous solution because of their obvious amphiphilic property and low critical micelle concentration. The spherical morphology and particle size of the prepared nano-micelles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering, respectively. Moreover, after the introduction of pH sensitive hydrazone bond, P123-DTX micelle showed a pH dependent drug release behavior. At pH 5.0 (in 48 h), the cumulative release amount of DTX were ~84.9%, which is about six times higher than that at pH 7.4. The prepared novel p123-DTX conjugates may offer a great benefit for drug delivery and controlling the drug release.

Poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline)-doxorubicin conjugate-based dual endosomal pH-sensitive micelles with enhanced antitumor efficacy.

Dual endosomal pH-sensitive micelles were designed and fabricated to deliver doxorubicin (DOX) for treating breast cancer based on a poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PEOz)-DOX (PEOz-hyd-DOX) conjugate. PEOz-hyd-DOX was successfully synthesized by connecting DOX to PEOz via an acid cleavable hydrazone linker and self-assembled into nanosized micelles, which further physically encapsulated DOX. The conjugate and DOX-loaded conjugate micelles displayed faster release of DOX at pH 5.0 than at pH 7.4. This pH-dependent release behavior might assist the quick diffusion of DOX from acidic endosomes or lysosomes and the intracellular transfer into the nucleus after internalization, which was confirmed by confocal laser scanning microscopy images. As expected, PEOz-hyd-DOX conjugate and DOX-loaded conjugate micelles maintained cytotoxicity of DOX. In addition, the dual endosomal pH-sensitive micelles were found to substantially enhance antitumor efficacy and reduce side effects compared with free DOX. Therefore, PEOz-hyd-DOX conjugate-based micelles might be potential drug delivery vehicles of DOX for safe and effective breast cancer therapy.

Thermogelling polymer-platinum(IV) conjugates for long-term delivery of cisplatin.

In this study, we suggest a novel strategy of constituting an in situ-formed hydrogel composed of polymer-platinum(IV) conjugate to realize a long-term delivery of cisplatin. A unique conjugate was designed and synthesized by covalent linking of Pt(IV) complex to the hydrophobic end of two methoxyl poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(d,l-lactide) (mPEG-PLA) copolymer chains, resulting in the formation of Bi(mPEG-PLA)-Pt(IV). The conjugate could self-assemble into micelles in water, and its concentrated solution exhibited a thermoreversible sol-gel transition and formed a semisolid thermogel at body temperature. The incorporation of the cisplatin analogue Pt(IV) prodrug into the conjugate had a significant influence on its thermogelling properties and the conjugate thermogelation was attributed to the micellar aggregation. In vitro release experiments of Pt(IV)-conjugated thermogel showed that the platinum release lasted as long as two months. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the Pt(IV) prodrug was released mainly in the form of micelles and micellar aggregates from the gel depot. Compared with free cisplatin, the formation of conjugate micelles led to the enhanced in vitro cytotoxicity against cancer cells due to the effective accumulation into cells via endocytosis.

Tuning the architecture of polymeric conjugate to mediate intracellular delivery of pleiotropic curcumin

To precisely manipulate the intracellular delivery of pleiotropic curcumin, this work reports two types of acid-responsive polymer–curcumin conjugates with different structures. One or two amphiphilic poly(ethylene glycol)-co-poly(lactic acid) (PEG-PLA) copolymer(s) were linked to curcumin via pH-liable hydrazone, producing a linear or phospholipid-like conjugate, respectively. Both conjugates efficiently self-assembled into micellar nanocarriers with enhanced stability in contrast to the paralleling PEG-PLA micelles. In comparison to the micelles assembled by phospholipid-like conjugates, the linear conjugate micelles exhibited similar size, doubled loading dose, higher release rate, and hence enhanced cellular uptake and cytotoxicity at the cost of increased critical micelle concentration. This work highlighted the importance of precise tuning of polymer–drug conjugate architecture in determining the pharmaceutical properties and thus delivery efficiency of the corresponding conjugate micelles.

Hyaluronic acid-quercetin conjugate micelles: Synthesis, characterization, in vitro and in vivo evaluation

A tumor cell-targeted prodrug was developed for quercetin, using hyaluronic acid as polymeric carrier. Hyaluronic acid-quercetin (HA-QT) bioconjugates were synthesized by linking the hydroxy of quercetin via a succinate ester to adipic dihydrazide-modified hyaluronic acid. The mirco-morphology demonstrated that the prepared prodrug could form self-assembled micelles possessing spherical shape, 172.1nm average diameter and −20.30mV surface potential. The HA-QT micelles exhibited significant sustained and pH-dependent drug release behaviors without dramatic initial burst. Compared to free quercetin solution, the HA-QT micelles were found a 4 times increase in cytotoxicity on MCF-7 cells (CD44-overexpressing cell lines), while weak enhancement in inhibitory activity was observed towards L929 cells (CD44 deficient cell lines). Promisingly, 20.1-fold increase in the half-life and 4.9-fold increase in the area-under-the-curve (AUC) of quercetin were achieved for the HA-QT micelles compared with the parent drug. In addition, the HA-QT micelles also showed excellent inhibition effect on tumor growth in H22 tumor-bearing mice. Hemolytic toxicity and vein irritation assay further suggested that the HA-QT micelles were a safe and potent drug delivery system for targeted antitumor therapy.

Bone-targeted acid-sensitive doxorubicin conjugate micelles as potential osteosarcoma therapeutics.

Osteosarcoma is a malignancy of the bone that primarily affects adolescents. Current treatments retain mortality rates, which are higher than average cancer mortality rates for the adolescent age group. We designed a micellar delivery system with the aim to increase drug accumulation in the tumor and potentially reduce side effects associated with chemotherapy. The design features are the use of the hydrophilic d-aspartic acid octapeptide as both the effective targeting agent as well as the hydrophilic micelle corona. Micelle stabilization was accomplished by binding of model drug (doxorubicin) via an acid-sensitive hydrazone bond and incorporating one to four 11-aminoundecanoic acid (AUA) moieties to manipulate the hydrophobic/hydrophilic ratio. Four micelle-forming unimers have been synthesized and their self-assembly into micelles was evaluated. Size of the micelles could be modified by changing the architecture of the unimers from linear to branched. The stability of the micelles increased with increasing content of AUA moieties. Adsorption of all micelles to hydroxyapatite occurred rapidly. Doxorubicin release occurred at pH 5.5, whereas no release was detected at pH 7.4. Cytotoxicity toward human osteosarcoma Saos-2 cells correlated with drug release data.

PH-responsive polymer–drug conjugates as multifunctional micelles for cancer-drug delivery

We developed a novel linear pH-sensitive conjugate methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-4β-aminopodophyllotoxin (mPEG-NPOD-I) by a covalently linked 4β-aminopodophyllotoxin (NPOD) and PEG via imine bond, which was amphiphilic and self-assembled to micelles in an aqueous solution. The mPEG-NPOD-I micelles simultaneously served as an anticancer drug conjugate and as drug carriers. As a drug conjugate, mPEG-NPOD-I showed a significantly faster NPOD release at a mildly acidic pH of 5.0 and 4.0 than a physiological pH of 7.4. Notably, it was confirmed that this drug conjugate could efficiently deliver NPOD to the nuclei of the tumor cells and led to much more cytotoxic effects to A549, Hela, and HepG2 cancer cells than the parent NPOD. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of mPEG-NPOD-I was about one order magnitude lower than that of the NPOD. In vivo, mPEG-NPOD-I reduced the size of the tumors significantly, and the biodistribution studies indicated that this drug conjugate could selectively accumulate in tumor tissues. As drug carriers, the mPEG-NPOD-I micelles encapsulated hydrophobic PTX with drug-loading efficiencies of 57% and drug-loading content of 16%. The loaded PTX also showed pH-triggered fast release behavior, and good additive cytotoxicity effect was observed for the PEG-NPOD-I/PTX. We are convinced that these multifunctional drug conjugate micelles have tremendous potential for targeted cancer therapy.