Selenium nanoparticles coated with pH responsive silk fibroin complex for fingolimod release and enhanced targeting in thyroid cancer

Abstract

Cancer-targeted drug delivery systems based on nanoparticles (NPs) have been considered promising therapies. In this study, we developed a pH-responsive smart NPs drug delivery system using silk fibroin (SF), selenium nanoparticles (Se NPs), fingolimod (FTY720), and heptapeptide (T7). The prepared FTY720@T7-SF-Se NPs were spheres with an average diameter of 120 nm, which would contribute to the enhanced permeability and retention effects in tumour regions. The encapsulation efficiency (EE) of the FTY720@T7-SF-Se NPs was 71.95 ± 3.81%. The release of FTY720 from the nanocarriers was pH-dependent, and the release of FTY720 was accelerated in an acidic environment. Both <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i> studies showed that FTY720@T7-SF-Se NPs had an enhanced cellular uptake selectivity and antitumor activity for thyroid cancer. The bio-distribution study <i>in vivo</i> further demonstrated that FTY720@T7-SF-Se NPs could effectively accumulate in the tumour region, thereby enhancing the ability to kill cancer cells <i>in vivo</i>. In addition, studies of histology and immunohistochemistry showed that FTY720@T7-SF-Se NPs had low toxicity to the major organs of tumour-bearing mice, indicating the prepared NPs has good biocompatibility <i>in vivo</i>. These results suggest that the tumour-targeted NPs delivery system (FTY720@T7-SF-Se NPs) has great potential as a new tool for thyroid cancer therapy.