Effective control of drug release from “nano-prodrugs”, which are nanoparticles composed of water-insoluble prodrug compounds is one of the most important determinants of the balance between drug efficacy and side effects. However, the chemical behaviors of nano-prodrugs in relation to drug release are poorly characterized. We created nano-prodrugs using a series of fatty acid ester (C2–C18) derivatives of 7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin (SN-38) and found that their in vitro cytotoxic activities decreased as the length of the fatty acid chain increased. The cytotoxicities of these nano-prodrugs were unrelated to particle size or efficacy of cellular uptake, but critically depended on their hydrolysis rate within cancer cells. These results indicated that the drug release rate from nano-prodrugs can be controlled successfully by changing the length of the introduced fatty acid chain.
有效控制 "纳米原药"(由不溶于
水的原药化合物组成的纳米颗粒)的药物释放是平衡药物疗效和副作用的最重要决定因素之一。然而,纳米原药与药物释放有关的
化学行为特征尚不明确。我们利用 7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin (SN-38) 的一系列
脂肪酸酯(C2-C18)衍
生物创建了纳米原药,并发现其体外细胞毒性活性随着
脂肪酸链长度的增加而降低。这些纳米药物的细胞毒性与颗粒大小或细胞摄取效率无关,而关键取决于它们在癌细胞内的
水解率。这些结果表明,通过改变引入
脂肪酸链的长度,可以成功控制纳米原药的药物释放率。