Doxorubicin Loaded PLGA Nanoparticle with Cationic/Anionic Polyelectrolyte Decoration: Characterization, and Its Therapeutic Potency

Optimized Doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (DPN) were prepared by controlling the water/oil distribution of DOX at different pH solutions and controlling the electrostatic interaction between DOX and different terminated-end PLGAs. Furthermore, cationic polyethylenimine (PEI) and anionic poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) were alternately deposited on DPN surface to form PEI-DPN (IDPN) and PAA-PEI-DPN (AIDPN) to enhance cancer therapy potency. Compared to DPN, IDPN exhibited a slower release rate in physiological conditions but PEI was demonstrated to increase the efficiency of cellular uptake and endo/lysosomal escape ability. AIDPN, with the outermost negatively charged PAA layer, still retained better endo/lysosomal escape ability compared to DPN. In addition, AIDPN exhibited the best pH-dependent release profile with 1.6 times higher drug release in pH 5.5 than in pH 7.4. Therefore, AIDPN with the characteristics of PEI and PAA simultaneously was the most optional cancer therapy choice within these three PLGA nanoparticles. As the proposed nanoparticles integrated optimal procedure factors, and possessed cationic and anionic outlayer, our drug delivery nanoparticles can provide an alternative solution to current drug delivery technologies.