Preparation of reduction-responsive camptothecin nanocapsules by combining nanoprecipitation and in situ polymerization for anticancer therapy

Abstract

Stimuli-responsive systems for controlled drug release have been extensively explored in recent years. In this work, we developed a reduction-responsive camptothecin (CPT) nanocapsule (CPT-NC) by combining nanoprecipitation and in situ polymerization using a polymerized surface ligand and a disulfide bond-containing crosslinker. Dissolution rate studies proved that the CPT-NCs have robust drug-release profiles in the presence of glutathione (GSH) owing to the division of the disulfide bond crosslinker which triggers the collapse of the polymer layer. Furthermore, the in vitro investigations demonstrated that the CPT-NCs exhibited a high-cellular uptake efficiency and cytotoxicity for cancer cells of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC-15). Our approach thus presents an effective intracellular drug delivery strategy for anticancer therapy.