Designed preparation of polyacrylic acid/calcium carbonate nanoparticles with high doxorubicin payload for liver cancer chemotherapy

Polyacrylic acid (PAA)/calcium carbonate (CaCO3) nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized via a simple and novel strategy. The as-prepared PAA/CaCO3 NPs not only exhibit ultrahigh doxorubicin (DOX) payload (1.18 g of DOX per g of NPs) but also possess pH-sensitive drug release properties. In vivo experiments show that the DOX-loaded PAA/CaCO3 NPs display a significant antitumor effect (76% average inhibition rate relative to the control group) without distinct side effects. Therefore, PAA/CaCO3 NPs are promising candidates for cancer therapy as efficient drug delivery vehicles.