Functionalized Selenium Nanoparticles Enhance Anticancer Efficacy of Doxorubicin for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Therapy

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is ranked as the second leading cancer-related death in the world. Chemotherapy is one of the most commonly used strategies for HCC patients, while the clinical application is hampered by its cytotoxicity. To address this dilemma, tumor-targeted nanotechnology has been proposed to balance the toxicity and efficacy of chemotherapy. Tumor-targeted selenium nanoparticles (HA-SeNPs) were prepared to load an anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). In this drug delivery system, hyaluronic acid (HA) was used as a tumor-targeted moiety to bind with its receptor highly expressed in hepatocellular carcinoma cells. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering assays showed that HA-Se@DOX was a small and high stable nanocomposite. The cell viability, scratch migration, and invasion chamber assays indicated that HA-Se@DOX showed stronger ability to suppress HepG2 cells growth and migration/invasion compared to Se@DOX or DOX alone. Moreover, HA-Se@DOX could induce HepG2 cells apoptosis probably through the reactive oxygen species (ROS). In summary, the results indicated that HA-Se@DOX exhibits great potential to be a prodrug against hepatocellular carcinoma.