Preparation and characterization of FA conjuagted MPEG-PLA polymer nanoparticles loaded with 10-hydroxycamptothecin for sustained drug release

Suboptimal pharmacokinetic properties, such as poor water solubility, limited stability, and severe side effects, still limited the therapeutic efficacy of drug for cancer chemotherapy, but there has been many strategies to improve these properties. In this paper, we combined several methods in a single drug delivery system and prepared a kind of 10-hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT)-loaded, PEGylated and folate modified polymeric nanoparticles (NPs). The results showed that the HCPT-MPEG-PLA-FA NPs (HMPF NPs) presented a hydrodynamic particle size of about 200 nm, a zeta potential of -8.9 mV, drug encapsulation efficiency of 67.77%, and drug-loading content of 8.23%. The in vitro drug release experiments exhibited a slow and prolonged release profile over 160 h. These results suggested that the HMPF NPs were well suited for drug delivery.