Polymeric micelles based on PEGylated chitosan-g-lipoic acid as carrier for efficient intracellular drug delivery

To develop a drug delivery system with long circulation and controlled drug release in cancer cells, polymeric micelles based on PEGylated chitosan-g-lipoic acid were prepared to use as a drug delivery platform. These micelles possessed good stability and were stable in physiological environment and high salt concentrations. The in vitro drug release results implied that the drug carrier could maintain their stability and minimize the payload leakage in systemic circulation, but release drugs faster under intracellular redox condition. Furthermore, the cellular uptake and therapeutic efficacy of the drug carrier were evaluated in vitro, and the results demonstrated that the drug carrier could escape from the endo/lysosomes of tumor cells effectively and present high cytotoxicity to tumor cells. Therefore, this drug delivery system has the potential to serve as a drug carrier for cancer therapy.