Delivery of therapeutic agents by nanoparticles made of grapefruit-derived lipids

Qilong Wang, Xiaoying Zhuang, Jingyao Mu, Zhong-Bin Deng, Hong Jiang, Lifeng Zhang, Xiaoyu Xiang, Baomei Wang, Jun Yan, Donald Miller and Huang-Ge Zhang ()
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Qilong Wang: Louisville Veterans Administration Medical Center
Xiaoying Zhuang: James Brown Cancer Center, University of Louisville, CTRB 309, 505 Hancock Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, USA
Jingyao Mu: James Brown Cancer Center, University of Louisville, CTRB 309, 505 Hancock Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, USA
Zhong-Bin Deng: University of Louisville
Hong Jiang: Louisville Veterans Administration Medical Center
Lifeng Zhang: James Brown Cancer Center, University of Louisville, CTRB 309, 505 Hancock Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, USA
Xiaoyu Xiang: James Brown Cancer Center, University of Louisville, CTRB 309, 505 Hancock Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, USA
Baomei Wang: James Brown Cancer Center, University of Louisville, CTRB 309, 505 Hancock Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, USA
Jun Yan: University of Louisville
Donald Miller: University of Louisville
Huang-Ge Zhang: Louisville Veterans Administration Medical Center

Nature Communications, 2013, vol. 4, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Although the use of nanotechnology for the delivery of a wide range of medical treatments has potential to reduce adverse effects associated with drug therapy, tissue-specific delivery remains challenging. Here we show that nanoparticles made of grapefruit-derived lipids, which we call grapefruit-derived nanovectors, can deliver chemotherapeutic agents, short interfering RNA, DNA expression vectors and proteins to different types of cells. We demonstrate the in vivo targeting specificity of grapefruit-derived nanovectors by co-delivering therapeutic agents with folic acid, which in turn leads to significantly increasing targeting efficiency to cells expressing folate receptors. The therapeutic potential of grapefruit-derived nanovectors was further demonstrated by enhancing the chemotherapeutic inhibition of tumour growth in two tumour animal models. Grapefruit-derived nanovectors are less toxic than nanoparticles made of synthetic lipids and, when injected intravenously into pregnant mice, do not pass the placental barrier, suggesting that they may be a useful tool for drug delivery.

Date: 2013
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2886

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