Peptide Modified Albumin–Paclitaxel Nanoparticles for Improving Chemotherapy and Preventing Metastasis

Metastasis and recurrence are the main causes of death in cancer patients; however, there are few medicines that can inhibit tumor growth and metastasis at the same time. In this work, a novel nano-drug delivery system (NDDS) based on targeting ligand modified albumin is reported. The hydrophobic drug (paclitaxel) induces albumin self-assembly after treatment of albumin with l-cysteine, forming drug-loaded nanoparticles with a size of 100-200 nm. Importantly, the albumin nanoparticles display enhanced antitumor efficacy against tumor growth/lung metastasis in 4T1 bearing nude mice and prevention of lung metastasis in a B16-F10 model. This study provides a facile method for hydrophobic chemo-drugs loaded albumin nanoparticles preparation and a promising chemotherapy with effective tumor growth inhibition and metastasis prevention.