Doxorubicin-Loaded CuS Nanoparticles Conjugated with GFLG: A Novel Drug Delivery System for Lymphoma Treatment

Doxorubicin (DOX) plays an important part in lymphoma treatment. However, various side effects on normal tissues restrict its clinical use. Nanocarriers connected by Gly–Phe–Leu–Gly (GFLG) can be equipped with the advantages of nanoparticles (NPs), their enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect, and surface modifiability. Nanocarriers can also be specifically enzymatically hydrolyzed by cathepsin (Cath) B, a kind of enzyme highly expressed in tumor cells. In this work, we proposed a novel drug delivery system comprising GFLG conjugated with copper sulfide (CuS) NPs loaded with DOX. The system, designated as CuS-GFLG-DOX, could be used for NP-based targeted combination chemotherapy. Results showed that the drug delivery system had an appropriate diameter, good dispersibility, high encapsulation efficiency and high drug loading. The system also exhibited an excellent targeting of lymphoma cells and an enhanced antitumor activity. The possible pathway to induce cytotoxic effects was Bcl-2/caspase-mediated apoptosis pathway. In conclusion, CuS-GFLG-DOX could precisely deliver drugs to lymphoma cells and could be a novel and promising therapeutic option for lymphoma.