Therapeutic ultrasound microbubbles carrying paclitaxel and LyP-1 peptide: Preparation, characterization and application to ultrasonic assisted chemotherapy in breast cancer cells

We have developed a novel lipid ultrasonic microbubble (MB) carrying paclitaxel (PTX) and LyP-1 peptides and investigated its tumor-targeted efficiency and chemotherapy effect in vitro. Results showed the attachment of targeted drug-loaded MBs to human MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells was highly efficient and stable under both static and dynamic conditions. Also, the targeted drug-loaded MBs showed an excellent acoustic destructibility, with lowest half life (t1/2) of about 43 s. In addition, the cell viability treated with targeted PTX-loaded MBs was 24.01% lower than that of non-targeted PTX-loaded MBs (p<;0.01) and 54.74% lower than that of non-targeted unloaded MBs (p<;0.01) when ultrasound was utilized. The study indicated the LyP-1 coated PTX-loaded MBs significantly increased the anti-tumor efficacy, which may be used as a potential chemotherapy for ultrasound assisted breast cancer treatment.