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PEGylated polyethylenimine-stabilized polypyrrole nanoparticles loaded with DOX for chemo-photothermal therapy of cancer cells

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Abstract

Combination of kinds of therapy modalities is promising for effective cancer treatment. Herein, a kind of multifunctional nanoparticles (NPs) was developed for cancer chemo-photothermal therapy applications. Polypyrrole (PPy) NPs were formed using a facile polymerization method using poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI) as stabilizer, followed by polyethylene glycol (PEG) modification and anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) loading. Showing obvious absorbance in the NIR range, the obtained PPy-PEI-PEG NPs displayed well photothermal ability with desirable photothermal stability. The release of the loaded DOX can be promoted by pH and laser stimulation. Compared with single therapy modality, the combination of chemotherapy and photothermal therapy showed higher cancer cell killing effect. The cellular internalization of the obtained NPs was proved to be effective. The developed multifunctional NPs are promising candidates for combined therapy of cancer cells.

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Funding

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51703184, 81701684), the Chongqing Research Program of Basic Research and Frontier Technology (cstc2017jcyjAX0066), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities from Southwest University (XDJK2018B007), a start-up grant from Southwest University (SWU116027), and the Science Foundation from Sci-Tech Office of Guangdong Province (2017A020215090).

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  1. Shuhang Lan and Weicheng Xie contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Luminescent and Real-Time Analytical Chemistry (Southwest University), Ministry of Education, Faculty of Materials and Energy, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China

    Shuhang Lan, Weicheng Xie, Jingjing Wang, Jie Hu, Wei Tang, Wenting Yang & Hui Liu

  2. Chongqing Engineering Research Center for Micro-Nano Biomedical Materials and Devices, Chongqing, 400715, China

    Shuhang Lan, Weicheng Xie & Hui Liu

  3. Department of Radiology, Zhuhai Hospital of Jinan University, Zhuhai People’s Hospital, 79 Kangning Road, Zhuhai, 519000, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China

    Xiangrong Yu

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  1. Shuhang Lan
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Correspondence to Xiangrong Yu or Hui Liu.

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Lan, S., Xie, W., Wang, J. et al. PEGylated polyethylenimine-stabilized polypyrrole nanoparticles loaded with DOX for chemo-photothermal therapy of cancer cells. J Nanopart Res 20, 300 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-018-4418-9

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