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Self-assembled nanoparticles (NPs) have been intensively utilized as cancer drug delivery carriers because hydrophobic anticancer drugs may be efficiently loaded into the particle cores. In this study, we synthesized and evaluated the therapeutic index of self-assembled NPs chemically conjugated to a fibronectin extra domain B-specific peptide (APTEDB) and an anticancer agent SN38. The APTEDB-SN38 formed self-assembled structures with a diameter of 58 ± 3 nm in an aqueous solution and displayed excellent drug loading, solubility, and stability properties. A pharmacokinetic study revealed that the blood circulation half-life of SN38 following injection of the APTEDB-SN38 NPs was markedly higher than that of the small molecule CPT-11. The APTEDB-SN38 NPs delivered SN38 to tumor sites by both passive and active targeting. Finally, the APTEDB-SN38 NPs exhibited potent antitumor activities and low toxicities against EDB-expressing tumors (LLC, U87MG) in mice. This system merits further preclinical and clinical investigations for SN38 delivery.

We report multifunctional nanoparticles that are capable of cancer targeting and simultaneous cancer imaging and therapy. The nanoparticles are composed of cyclic arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (cRGD) peptide ligand bioconjugated thermally cross-linked superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (TCL-SPION) that enable loading of the anticancer drug doxorubicin (Dox). The cyclic RGD-conjugated TCL-SPION (cRGD_TCL-SPION) had a mean hydrodynamic size of 34 ± 8 nm with approximately 0.39 wt% of cyclic RGD attached to the surface of the nanoparticles. The cRGD_TCL-SPION exhibited preferential binding towards target cancer cells (U87MG, integrin α(v)β(3)+) when analyzed by T(2)-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. When Dox was loaded onto the polymeric coating layers of cRGD_TCL-SPION via ionic interaction, the resulting Dox-loaded cRGD_TCL-SPION (Dox@cRGD_TCL-SPION) showed much higher cytotoxicity in U87MG cells than Dox@TCL-SPION lacking cRGD (IC(50) value of 0.02 µM versus 0.12 µM). These results suggest that Dox@cRGD_TCL-SPION has potential for use as an integrin-targeted, combined imaging and therapeutic agent.

In this paper, we suggest a facile and effective method for water-repellent coating of oxide surfaces. As a coating material, we synthesized a new random copolymer, referred to as poly(TMSMA-r-fluoroMA), by the radical polymerization of 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate (TMSMA) and a fluoromonomer(®) bearing methacrylate moiety (fluoroMA). The random copolymer was designed to consist of a 'surface-reactive part' (trimethoxysilyl group) for anchoring onto oxide-based surfaces and a 'functional part' (perfluoro group) for water repellency. The polymeric self-assembled monolayers (pSAMs) of poly(TMSMA-r-fluoroMA) were constructed on three different aluminum oxide substrates, such as flat, concave-textured, and nanoporous plates, and the static water contact angle of each surface before and after the formation of pSAMs was measured. The formation of pSAMs resulted in significantly enhanced hydrophobicity compared with the corresponding bare surfaces. In particular, among three poly(TMSMA-r-fluoroMA)-coated surfaces, the nanoporous plate showed the highest water-repellent property, with a static contact angle of ∼163°, which is indicative of superhydrophobic surfaces.