Combination therapy using distinct mode-of-action drugs has sparked a rapidly growing interest because this paradigm holds promise for improving the therapeutic efficacy of anticancer therapy. However, the current drug combination therapy refers to administering individual drugs together, which is far from a perfect regimen for cancer patients. The aim of this work was to demonstrate that synergistic delivery of two chemotherapeutic drugs in a single nanoparticle reservoir could be achieved through the rational chemical ligation of the drugs followed by supramolecular nano-assembly via blending of the drugs with a minimal amount of matrix. Choosing 7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin and taxanes, which are rich in aromatic structures, as model compounds, we show that the heterodimeric conjugates of the two agents are miscible with lipids to form systemically injectable nanomedicines. The compatibility between the prodrug conjugates and lipid carriers is substantially augmented by the intermolecular π-π stacking and alleviated polarity, thus enabling an exceptionally high drug loading (DL) capacity (~92%) and a gratifyingly long drug retention time within the micellar core. We further observed superior therapeutic outcomes in a mouse tumor model without detecting accompanying systemic toxicity. This structure-based, self-assembled cancer nanomedicine increased the potency and drug tolerability in animals and thus offers a robust strategy for simultaneously formulating two or more drugs in single nanovehicles.
使用不同作用机制药物的联合疗法引起了迅速增长的兴趣,因为这种范式有望提高抗癌疗法的疗效。然而,目前的药物联合疗法指的是同时给予单个药物,这种方案远非癌症患者的完美治疗方案。本研究旨在证明通过合理的药物
化学连接,随后通过将药物与少量基质混合进行超分子纳米组装,可以实现将两种化疗药物协同输送到单个纳米粒子储库中。选择富含芳香结构的
7-乙基-10-羟基喜树碱和
紫杉烷作为模型化合物,我们展示了这两种药物的异二聚体偶联物与脂质相容,形成可系统性注射的纳米药物。前药偶联物与脂质载体的相容性因分子间π-π堆积和降低的极性而显著增强,从而实现异常高的载药量(DL)容量(~92%)和在胶束核心内令人满意的长时间药物保留。我们进一步在一种小鼠肿瘤模型中观察到优于现有方案的治疗结局,且未检测到伴随的系统性毒性。这种基于结构的、自组装的癌症纳米药物增加了动物的药物效力和耐受性,因此为同时在单个纳米载体中配制两种或更多药物提供了强有力的策略。