Overcoming multidrug resistance of breast cancer cells by the micellar doxorubicin nanoparticles of mPEG-PCL-graft-cellulose

The amphiphilic block copolymer methoxy-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (mPEG-PCL) was grafted to 2-hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) to produce nano-sized micellar nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were loaded with anti-tumor drug, doxorubicin (DOX) and the size of the DOX-loaded nanoparticles were determined by dynamic light scattering (DLS) in aqueous solution to be from 197.4 to 230 nm. The nanoparticles subjected to co-culture with macrophage cells showed that these nanoparticles used as drug carrier are not recognized as foreign bodies. Overexpression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is an important factor in the development of multidrug resistance (MDR) in many cancer cells. In this study, Western blot and Rhodamine 123 were used to monitor the relative P-glycoprotein expression in human breast cancer cell lines MCF-7/WT and MCF-7/ADR. The endocytosis of the DOX-loaded nanoparticles by breast cancer cells is more efficient observed under a confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and a flow cytometry in MCF7/ADR cells, compared to the diffusion of the free drug into the cytoplasm of cells. Based on these findings, we concluded that the nanoparticles made from mPEG-PCL-g-cellulose were effective in overcoming P-gp efflux in MDR breast cancer cells.