Doxorubicin Delivery

Doxorubicin Delivery

Cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and anthracyclines, especially doxorubicin, are among the most widely used chemotherapeutic drugs used to treat countless cancers. Doxorubicin (DOX, adriamycin) is a water-soluble, orange to red (at neutral pH), photosensitizing chemotherapeutic drug isolated from Streptomyces peucetius var. caesius that has been the mainstay of treatment for breast and ovarian cancer.

Overview of Doxorubicin

One of the most widely used chemotherapy drugs for countless cancers, DOX can be used alone or in combination with other chemotherapy drugs to treat cancers such as bladder cancer, breast cancer, soft tissue sarcoma, multiple myeloma, and Hodgkin's cancer. The toxic effect of DOX on the heart is achieved through the oxidation of iron and the generation of free radicals, which is related to the dose, and is roughly divided into acute and chronic, which eventually leads to the patient's performance of congestive cardiomyopathy.

The specific mechanism of action of DOX is that it interacts with DNA through intercalation to inhibit the synthesis of biological macromolecules. Inhibition of biomacromolecule synthesis results in the inhibition of topoisomerase II, an enzyme that relaxes the supercoiled structure of DNA, ultimately causing DNA replication to stop. Another mechanism of action of DOX is the induction of DNA and cell membrane damage through self-generated free radicals. In addition, DOX-treated cells undergo modification that activates neighboring dendritic cells and enhances tumor antigen presentation, which also aids in clearing tumor cells.

Immunogenicity of doxorubicin. (Sritharan S, et al., 2021)

Doxorubicin Delivery System

Drug delivery refers to the transport of drug compounds to the target site to achieve the desired therapeutic effect, including delivery methods and techniques. An ideal drug delivery system can vary the rate and timing of drug release to produce sufficient or sustained drug concentrations after drug delivery to target cells, target tissues, or target organs. The systems currently used for drug delivery are mainly nanocarriers, including dendrimers, liposomes, polymers, and virus-like particles (VLPs).

VLP for Doxorubicin Delivery

The use of nanoparticle-based drug delivery vehicles to control drug release to improve drug therapy and gene therapy is a promising approach. As a nanoscale material, VLPs have high potential for drug delivery due to their biocompatibility, solubility, high uptake efficiency, targeted delivery, and high drug loading. The development and application of VLPs is a growing field that can deliver substances such as drugs, proteins/peptides, DNA and siRNA. Therefore, VLPs play an important role in drug delivery, gene therapy, cell targeting and cancer therapy.

VLP as a doxorubicin delivery platform. (Hu H, et al., 2020)

How We can Help

As a global leader in the production and application of VLPs from VLPlant^TM platform, CD BioSciences leverages its expertise to help our customers deliver bleomycin. We are good at tailoring our services to the needs of our clients. Please contact us if you are interested.

Our capabilities include but are not limited to:

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References

1. Sritharan S.; Sivalingam N. A comprehensive review on time-tested anticancer drug doxorubicin. Life Sci. 2021, 278: 1-10.
2. Hu H.; Steinmetz NF. Doxorubicin-Loaded Physalis Mottle Virus Particles Function as a pH-Responsive Prodrug Enabling Cancer Therapy. Biotechnol J. 2020, 15: 1-24.