Preparation of a PEGylated liposome that co-encapsulates l-arginine and doxorubicin to achieve a synergistic anticancer effect

Strategies that combine chemotherapies with unconventional agents such as nitric oxide (NO) have been shown to enhance cancer therapies. Compared with small molecule chemotherapy drugs, nanosized particles have improved therapeutic efficacies and reduced systemic side effects because of the enhanced permeability and retention effect. In this report, we prepared PEGylated liposomes (LP) that incorporated l-arginine (Arg) and the anticancer drug doxorubicin (Dox) to yield a co-delivery system (Dox–Arg-LP). On the basis of our previous research, we hypothesized that Dox–Arg-LP should achieve a synergistic anticancer effect because Arg conversion to NO by activated M1 macrophages augments the chemotherapeutic activity of Dox. Dox–Arg-LP showed comparable physical properties to those of conventional Dox-only liposomes (Dox-LP). In vitro assessment revealed that the cytotoxicity of Dox–Arg-LP toward cancer cells was significantly higher than that of Dox-LP. In vivo application of Dox–Arg-LP in mice enhanced the chemotherapeutic effect with a 2 mg kg(−1) dose of Dox–Arg-LP achieving the same therapeutic efficacy as a two-fold higher dose of Dox-LP (i.e., 4 mg kg(−1)). Therefore, co-encapsulation of dual agents into a liposome formulation is an efficient strategy to enhance chemotherapy while reducing systemic toxicity.