Doxorubicin-Loaded Melanin Particles for Enhanced Chemotherapy in Drug-Resistant Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer Cells

Abstract

Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is highly aggressive and tends to develop drug resistance to standard chemotherapies. To overcome the drug resistance of ATC, we synthesized dopamine-melanin nanoparticles (MNPs) loaded with doxorubicin (Dox) molecules. The Dox-loaded MNPs (Dox-MNPs) developed exhibited increased cellular uptake and enhanced therapeutic efficacy in drug-resistant ATC cell line HTh74R, compared with free Dox. The native MNPs were found to have excellent biocompatibility, which suggests that Dox-MNPs may have potential in the treatment of ATC.