A Mn-doped calcium phosphate nanoparticle-based multifunctional nanocarrier for targeted drug delivery and cellular MR imaging

Multifunctional nanoplatform integrated with efficient imaging for diagnosis and therapeutic functions are much promising for realizing highly efficient imaging-guided chemotherapy in vivo but still in a great challenge. The nanocarriers with biodegradable and good biocompatibility are an urgent requirement. Herein, we designed Mn-doped calcium phosphate nanoparticles (Mn-CaPNPs) for targeted delivery of doxorubicin (DOX) and MR imaging-guided cancer therapy. Mn-CaPNPs were synthesized via a double reverse emulsion approach. To obtain excellent colloidal stability, mPEG-NH 2 was conjugated to Mn-CaPNPs by electrostatic adsorption. Doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) and EGFR Mab C225 were conjugated to the Mn-CaPNPs-mPEG-NH 2 via hydrophobic interaction and the cross-linking reaction of glutaraldehyde (Mn-CaPNPs-DOX, Mn-CaPNPs-DOX-Mab C225). The as-prepared multifunctional nanocarrier nanoplatform possess good biocompatibility, high loading capacity for DOX, good T1-MR contrast effect, and significantly enhancing the targeted therapeutic effect against BxPC-3 cells. The results suggested that Mn-CaPNPs could be used as a promising nanocarrier nanoplatform for highly efficient imaging-guided cancer therapy.