CA4-loaded doxorubicin prodrug coating Fe3O4 nanoparticles for tumor combination therapy

Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) have attracted a great deal of attention due to their magnetic properties, low toxicity, high surface area and their small sizes. Owning to the low toxicity, easy separation and controlled NPs size, in this study Fe3O4 NPs have been used for co-delivery two anticancer drugs for combination tumor therapy. We used doxorubicin (DOX) prodrugs and DSPE-PEG5000 to coat Fe3O4 NPs to form DOX–Fe3O4 NPs. The hydrophobic anticancer drug combretastatin A-4 (CA4) was loaded into DOX–Fe3O4 NPs to form DOX–CA4–Fe3O4 NPs. It was proved that the obtained DOX–CA4–Fe3O4 NPs with an average diameter around 53.7 ± 5.25 nm could accumulate effectively in tumors by an enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. After intravenous injection, the DOX–CA4–Fe3O4 NPs were found to selectively accumulate at the tumor site and killed the cancer cells in a combinatorial way. The results indicate that the DOX–CA4–Fe3O4 NPs can be potentially applied as a safe and efficient two anticancer drugs delivery carrier.