Theranostic inorganic-organic hybrid nanoparticles with a cocktail of chemotherapeutic and cytostatic drugs

Theranostic inorganic-organic hybrid nanoparticles (IOH-NPs) with a cocktail of chemotherapeutic and cytostatic drugs and a composition Gd-2(3+)[(PMX)(0.5)(EMP)(0.5)](3)(2-), [Gd(OH)](2+)[(PMX)(0.74)(AlPCS4)(0.13)](2-), or [Gd(OH)](2+)[(PMX)(0.70)(TPPS4)(0.15)](2-) (PMX: pemetrexed, EMP: estramustine phosphate, AlPCS4: aluminum(iii) chlorido phthalocyanine tetrasulfonate, TPPS4: tetraphenylporphine sulfonate) are presented for the first time. These IOH-NPs are prepared in water (40-60 nm in size) and have a non-complex composition with outstanding drug loading (71-82% of total nanoparticle mass) of at least two chemotherapeutic or a mixture of cytostatic and photosensitizing agents. All IOH-NPs show red to deep-red emission (650-800 nm) to enable optical imaging. The superior performance of the IOH-NPs with a chemotherapeutic/cytostatic cocktail is validated based on cell-viability assays and angiogenesis studies with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). The synergistic anti-cancer effect of the IOH-NPs with a chemotherapeutic cocktail is shown in a murine breast-cancer cell line (pH8N8) and a human pancreatic cancer cell line (AsPC1), whereas the synergistic cytotoxic and phototoxic efficacy is verified in response to illumination of HeLa-GFP cancer cells, MTT assays with human colon cancer cells (HCT116), and normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDF). HepG2 spheroids as 3D cell cultures prove the effective uptake of the IOH-NPs with high uniform distribution and the release of the chemotherapeutic drugs with the strong synergistic effect of the cocktail of drugs.