Polymeric Meicelles for Neoadjuvant Cancer Therapy and Tumor-Primed Optical Imaging

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Cho and Kwon. Poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(D,L-lactic acid) (PEG-b-PLA) micelles act as a 3-in-1 nanocontainer for three poorly water-soluble drugs
paclitaxel, 17-allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin,
and rapamycin (PTX/17-AAG/RAPA)
for cancer therapy. In a LS180 human colon xenograft model, a single intravenous (IV) injection of 3-in-1 PEG-b-PLA micelles reduced tumor volume by 1.6-fold with <10% body weight change. In a second step, IV injection of poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(ε-caprolactone) (PEG-b-PCL) micelles carrying a carbocyanine dye (1,10-dioctadecyl tetramethyl indotricarbocyanine iodide (DiR)) after 48 h resulted in a 2.1-fold higher near-infrared (NIR) optical signal from excised solid tumors versus a negative control, presumably due to a reduction in tumor cell density and interstitial tumor pressure. Thus, a tandem of 3-in-1 PEG-b-PLA and PEG-b-PCL micelles could potentially be used for neoadjuvant cancer therapy and tumor-primed NIR optical imaging for intraoperative surgical guidance in oncology, offering a promising multimodal strategy for cancer therapy and imaging.