서강대학교

초록/요약

In anticancer treatment, combination therapy is emerging to improve the insufficient anticancer efficacy off single therapies such as chemotherapy, photodynamic therapy (PDT), and sonodynamic therapy (SDT). Because free drugs are difficult to reach the target site due to degradation by enzymes in the body, drug delivery systems are being developed for combination therapy. However, nanocarriers such as microbubbles, albumin nanoparticles, and polymeric nanoparticles are unstable in the body and show low drug loading efficiency. Here, we propose polylactide (PLA)-poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) polymersomes with a high drug loading rate for effective combination therapy. Compared to loading efficiency of doxorubicin with passive loading, PLA-PEG polymersomes with pH gradient showed about 3 times higher loading rate. When irradiated with ultrasound, olymersomes with verteporfin and doxorubicin (VT-Dox-PL), a sonosensitizer and a chemotherapeutic agent respectively, combination therapy efficacy was confirmed on MIA paca-2 cells. The cytotoxic effect of combination therapy was better that that of other single therapy. Also, through tumor volume change and in vivo bio distribution, VT-Dox-PL showed the most effective anticancer efficacy. These results suggest that combination therapy of SDT and chemotherapy could show novel anticancer effect by VT-Dox-PL.