Self-assembled multifunctional nanotheranostics loading GEM for targeted lung cancer therapy

The aim of this study was to prepare a promising drug carrier for treatment of lung cancer. The self-assembly nanoparticles of SDP-GEM/PEI-PEG-anti-EGFR with chemotherapeutic drug of gemcitabine (GEM), Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) guided- imaging and targeting of anti- Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (anti-EGFR) were designed. The imaging capacity, targeting feasibility and anti-tumor function were evaluated respectively. SDP-GEM/PEI-PEG-anti-EGFR exhibited contrast enhancement under T2 Weight Image (T2WI) and a liner relationship was found between the concentration and relaxation rate of R2 and R2* in vitro . With the targeting of anti-EGFR, the endocytosis of nanoparticles increased significantly, which effectively killed lung cancer cells in vitro , and importantly it can be accurately delivered to tumor site within 3 h in vivo . Prolonged lifetime and smaller tumor volume demonstrated that SDP-GEM/PEI-PEG-anti-EGFR efficiently inhibited tumor growth in vivo . Therefore, SDP-GEM/PEI-PEG-anti-EGFR was an effective and safe drug carrier, which had a great potential application in MRI-guided lung cancer therapy.