Therapeutic protein & drug co-loaded biodegradable silica nanoparticle for synergistic anticancer therapy

Abstract

Intracellular protein delivery has an important role, affecting reprogramming of the cell behavior. Despite of advantages of protein delivery, it is hard to deliver proteins due to low permeability and poor stability. Herein, we designed protein and anticancer drug co-loaded biodegradable silica nanoparticle via in-situ reaction. Cytochrome C and Doxorubicin are chosen as therapeutic molecules for anticancer therapy. Biodegradability of silica nanoparticle was controlled by three factors: 1) ratio of TEOS and disulfide precursors, 2) feeding amount of protein and drug, and 3) precursor concentration. Each different silica nanoparticle showed different release profile under 5 mM GSH condition, whether it was stable under deionized water. Further, by the introduction of targeting ligand including poly(ethylene glycol) using Michael-addition chemistry, protein and drug delivery nanosystem may have enhanced stability and selectivity to tumor, leading to apoptosis of cancer cells.