Volume 18, Issue 2 2104449
Research Article

Advanced Nanoengineering Approach for Target-Specific, Spatiotemporal, and Ratiometric Delivery of Gemcitabine–Cisplatin Combination for Improved Therapeutic Outcome in Pancreatic Cancer

Mubin Tarannum

Mubin Tarannum

Department of Chemistry, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, 28223 USA

Nanoscale Science Program, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, 28223 USA

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Md Akram Hossain

Md Akram Hossain

Department of Biological Sciences, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, 28223 USA

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Bryce Holmes

Bryce Holmes

Analytical Research Laboratory, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC, 27411 USA

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Shan Yan

Shan Yan

Department of Biological Sciences, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, 28223 USA

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Pinku Mukherjee

Pinku Mukherjee

Department of Biological Sciences, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, 28223 USA

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Juan L. Vivero-Escoto

Corresponding Author

Juan L. Vivero-Escoto

Department of Chemistry, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, 28223 USA

Center for Biomedical Engineering and Science, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, 28223 USA

E-mail: [email protected]

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First published: 10 November 2021
Citations: 20

Abstract

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an intractable malignancy with a dismal survival rate. Recent combination therapies have had a major impact on the improvement of PDAC prognosis. Nevertheless, clinically used combination regimens such as FOLFIRINOX and gemcitabine (Gem)/nab-paclitaxel still face major challenges due to lack of the safe and ratiometric delivery of multiple drugs. Here, a rationally designed mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSN)-based platform is reported for the target-specific, spatiotemporal, ratiometric, and safe co-delivery of Gem and cisplatin (cisPt). It is shown that systemic administration of the nanoparticles results in synergistic therapeutic outcome in a syngeneic and clinically relevant genetically engineered PDAC mouse model that has rarely been used for the therapeutic evaluation of nanomedicine. This synergism is associated with a strategic engineering approach, in which nanoparticles provide redox-responsive controlled delivery and in situ differential release of Gem/cisPt drugs with the goal of overcoming resistance to Pt-based drugs. The platform is also rendered with additional tumor-specificity via a novel tumor-associated mucin1 (tMUC1)-specific antibody, TAB004. Overall, the platform suppresses tumor growth and eliminates the off-target toxicities of a highly toxic chemotherapy combination.

Conflict of Interest

Dr. Mukherjee is the founder of OncoTAb Inc.

Data Availability Statement

The data that supports the findings of this study are available in the supplementary material of this article.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.