Transferrin-modified doxorubicin-loaded biodegradable nanoparticles exhibit enhanced efficacy in treating brain glioma-bearing rats

Doxorubicin (Dox) is widely used for the treatment of solid tumors but its clinical utility on glioma is limited. In this study, we developed a novel nano-scale drug delivery system employing biodegradable nanoparticle (NP) as carriers to load Dox. Transferrin (Tf) was conjugated to the surface of NP to specifically target the NP to glioma. Tf-NP-Dox was prepared via emulsification-solvent evaporation method, and characterized for the size, Drug loading capacity (DLC), entrapment efficiency, and Tf number on the surface. The antitumor efficiency in vitro was evaluated via CCK-8 assay. The transmembrane transportation was evaluated via HPLC assay. The antitumor efficiency in vivo was assessed in C6 glioma intracranial implant rat model. The average diameter of Tf-NP-Dox was 100 nm with ∼32 Tf molecules on the surface. DLC was 4.4%. CCK-8 assay demonstrated much stronger cytotoxicity of Tf-NP-Dox to C6 glioma cells compared to NP-Dox or Dox. HPLC assay showed that Tf-NP-Dox transported Dox into C6 cells with high efficiency. In vivo, Tf-NP-Dox could transport Dox into tumors compare to contralateral part, with tumor inhibitory ratio and survival higher than NP-Dox or Dox. Taken together, our results suggest that Tf-NP-Dox exhibits better therapeutic effects against glioma both in vitro and in vivo, and is a potential nano-scale drug delivery system for glioma chemotherapy.