Protoporphyrin IX-loaded laminarin nanoparticles for anticancer treatment, their cellular behavior, ROS detection, and animal studies

Laminarin conjugate-based nano-scaled particles were in this study proposed as a delivery system for protoporphyrin IX (Pp IX) in photodynamic therapy (PDT) of human breast cancer cells (MCF-7). Hematin-Laminarin-Dithiodipropionic Acid-MGK, named as HLDM, was an amphiphilic carrier material with dual pH/redox sensitive that could be used to load hydrophobic drug to improve their solubility and enhance biocompatibility. Therefore, we combined photosensitizer (Pp IX) with HLDM to fabricate a novel nano-micelles, herein called Pp IX-loaded HLDM micelles. The Pp IX-loaded HLDM micelles were 149.3 ± 35 nm sized in neutral water. Phototoxicity, in vitro PDT effect, and dual sensibility to pH and redox microenvironment of Pp IX-loaded HLDM micelles were examined at different concentrations by using MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. The experiments on phototoxicity and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production proved that the micelles could produce PDT to kill the cancer cells with a certain wavelength light. The apoptosis experiment indicated that the micelles could cause nuclear damage. In vivo PDT effect of the micelles was studied by constructing the tumor-bearing nude mouse model of MCF-7 cells. In vivo studies showed that the Pp IX-loaded HLDM micelles could induce remarkable anti-tumor effect. A promising laminarin-based nanomedicine platform acts as a new drug delivery system to enhance the uptake, accumulation, and PDT efficacy of Pp IX in vitro and in vivo.