DNA Nanostructures as Pt(IV) Prodrug Delivery Systems to Combat Chemoresistance

Abstract Cisplatin is a first‐line drug in clinical cancer treatment but its efficacy is often hindered by chemoresistance in cancer cells. Reduced intracellular drug accumulation is revealed to be a major mechanism of cisplatin resistance. Nanoscale drug delivery systems could help to overcome this problem because of their more active cellular uptake and more accurate tumor localization. DNA nanostructures have emerged as promising drug delivery systems because of their intrinsic biocompatibility and structural programmability. Herein, three diverse DNA nanostructures are constructed and their potential for cisplatin prodrug delivery is investigated. Results found that these DNA nanostructures could remarkably enhance the cellular internalization of platinum drugs and thus increase the anticancer activity, not only to regular lung cancer cells (A549), but more importantly to cisplatin‐resistant cancer cells (A549cisR). Further, in vivo studies also demonstrate that cisplatin prodrug loaded DNA nanostructures could effectively suppress tumor growth in both regular and cisplatin‐resistant tumor models. This study suggests that DNA nanostructures are effective carriers for platinum prodrug delivery to combat chemoresistance.