Synthesis and evaluation of anticancer activity in cells of novel stoichiometric pegylated fullerene-doxorubicin conjugates.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To synthesize pegylated stoichiometrically and structurally well-defined conjugates of fullerene (C60) with doxorubicin (DOX) and investigate their antiproliferative effect against cancer cell lines. METHODS: Stoichiometric (11 and 12) pegylated conjugates of C60 with DOX were synthesized using the Prato reaction to create fulleropyrrolidines equipped with a carboxyl function for anchoring a polyethylene glycol (PEG) moiety and either a hydroxyl group for attaching one molecule of DOX or a terminal alkyne group for attaching two molecules of DOX through a click reaction. In both conjugates, the DOX moieties are held through a urethane-type bond. Drug release was studied in phosphate buffer (PBS, pH 7.4) and MCF-7 cancer cells lysate. The uptake of the conjugates by MCF-7 cancer cells and their intracellular localization were studied with fluorescence microscopy. The antiproliferative activity of the conjugates was investigated using the WST-1 test. RESULTS: One or two DOX molecules were anchored on pegylated C60 particles to form DOX-C60-PEG conjugates. Drug liberation from the conjugates was significantly accelerated in the presence of tumor cell lysate compared to PBS. The conjugates could be internalized by MCF-7 cells. DOX from the conjugates exhibited much delayed, compared to free DOX, localization in the nucleus and antiproliferative activity. CONCLUSION: Pegylated DOX-C60 conjugates (11) and (21) with well-defined structure were successfully synthesized and found to exhibit comparable, but with a delayed onset, antiproliferative activity with free DOX against MCF-7 cancer cells. The results obtained justify further investigation of the potential of these conjugates as anticancer nanomedicines.