Targeted Treatment of Colon Cancer with Aptamer-Guided Albumin Nanoparticles Loaded with Docetaxel

Purpose Chemotherapy of colon cancer needs improvement to mitigate the severe adverse effects (AEs) associated with the cytotoxic drugs. The aim of this study is to develop a novel targeted drug delivery system (TDDS) with practical application potential for colon cancer treatment.Methods The TDDS was built by loading docetaxel (DTX) in albumin nanoparticles (NPs) that were functionalized with nucleolin-targeted aptamers (AS1411).Results The TDDS (Apt-NPs-DTX) had an average size of 62 nm and was negatively charged with a zeta potential of −31.2 mV. DTX was released from the albumin NP with a typical sustained release profile. Aptamer-guided NPs were preferentially ingested by nucleolin-expressing CT26 colon cancer cells vs the control cells. In vitro cytotoxicity study showed that Apt-NPs-DTX significantly enhanced the killing of CT26 colon cancer cells. Importantly, compared with non-targeted drug delivery, Apt-NPs-DTX treatment significantly improved antitumor efficacy and prolonged the survival of CT26-bearing mice, without raising systemic toxicity.Conclusion The results suggest that Apt-NPs-DTX has potential in the targeted treatment of colon cancer.