Abstract
Intra-tumor bacteria promote tumor growth and inactivate cancer-chemotherapeutics, causing poor treatment prognoses. Combined administration of cancer-chemotherapeutics and antibiotics may disturb the oral and intestinal microflora in critically-ill patients. To establish intra-tumor co-delivery of cancer-chemotherapeutics and antibiotics, gemcitabine and ciprofloxacin are loaded in so-called “self-targeting”, highly blood-compatible, synthetic DCPA-H2O liposomes equipped with complexed water for pH-responsiveness. Liposomal pH-responsiveness can be maintained by in-shell loading of gemcitabine and in-core loading of ciprofloxacin. These dual-loaded liposomes are stealthily transported in the blood circulation to accumulate in the acidic environment of an infected tumor. Upon tumor self-targeting, liposomes are fused with tumor cells and infecting bacteria and are disassembled to simultaneously release gemcitabine and ciprofloxacin. Treatment of mice with these self-targeting liposomes yields significantly higher responses of Escherichia coli infected tumors with respect to both infection and tumor volume than gemcitabine and ciprofloxacin co-delivered from non-self-targeting liposomes or free gemcitabine with or without ciprofloxacin in solution.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 2215153 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | Advanced Functional Materials |
Volume | 33 |
Issue number | 32 |
Early online date | Apr-2023 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 8-Aug-2023 |
Keywords
- antibiotics
- chemotherapeutics
- gemcitabine
- infections
- membrane fusion
- nanoparticles
- tumor treatments
- Zeta potentials