pH-Sensitive Delivery Vehicle Based on Folic Acid-Conjugated Polydopamine-Modified Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for Targeted Cancer Therapy

In this study, we introduced,a targeting polymer poly(ethylene glycol) folic acid (PEG FA) on the surface of polyclopatnine (PDA)modified mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) to develop the novel nanoparticles (NPs) MSNs@PDA-PEGHFA, which were employed as a drug delivery system loaded with doxorubicin (DOX) as a model drug for cervical cancer therapy. The chemical structure and properties of these NPs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) N-2 adsorption/desorption, dynamic light scattering-autosizer, thermogravimetric analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The pH-sensitive PDA coating served as a gatekeeper. The in vitro drug release experiments showed pH-dependent and 'sustained drug,release profiles that could enhance the therapeutic anticancer effect and minimize potential damage to normal cells due to the acidic microenvironment of theitumor. These MSN5@PDA-PEG-FA achieved significantly high targeting efficiency, which was demonstrated by the in vitro Cellular uptake and cellular targeting assay. Compared with that of free DOX and DOX, loaded NPs without the folic targeting ligakl, the FA-targeted NPs exhibited higher antitumor efficky in vivo) implying that they are a highly promising potential carrier for cancer treatments.