Preparation of HCPT Loaded Nanoneedles with Pointed Ends for Highly Efficient Cancer Chemotherapy
The high aspect ratio nanoparticles were proved to be internalized much more rapidly and efficiently by cancer cells than the nanoparticles with an equal aspect ratio. Herein, a kind of high aspect ratio, pointed end nanoneedles (NDs) with a high drug loading (15.04 and the prolonged drug release profile were fabricated with an anti tumor drug 10 hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT) via an ultrasound assisted emulsion crystallization technique. It is surprising to see that the cellular internalization of NDs with an average length of 5 mm and an aspect ratio of about 12:1 was even much faster and higher than that of nanorods with the same size and the nanospheres with a much smaller size of 150 nm. The results further validated that cellular internalization of the nanoparticles exhibited a strong shape dependent effect, and cellular uptake may favor the particles with sharp ends as well as a high aspect ratio instead of particle size. The NDs with enhanced cytotoxicity would lead to a promising sustained local drug delivery system for highly efficient anticancer therapy. More importantly, the fabrication of NDs opens a door to design new formulations of nanoneedle drug delivery systems for highly efficient cancer.
Nanoscale Research Letters