Engineering of (10-hydroxycamptothecin intercalated layered double hydroxide)@liposome nanocomposites with excellent water dispersity

Abstract A hierarchical nanocomposite of 10-hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT), a nonionic and lipophilic anticancer drug, intercalated layered double hydroxide (LDH) encapsulated in liposomes was constructed. HCPT molecules were first incorporated into sodium cholate (Ch) micelles, and the resultant negatively charged HCPT-loaded Ch micelles were then co-assembled with positively charged LDH single-layer nanosheets, forming a HCPT/Ch intercalated LDH (HCPT-Ch-LDH) host-gest nanohybrid. The nanohybrid particles were further coated with liposomes (LSs), gaining a core-shell nanocomposite, denoted as (HCPT-Ch-LDH)@LS. The so-obtained samples were characterized using TEM, SAXS, FT-IR, DLS, and elemental analyses. Special emphasis was placed on the effect of liposome-coating for the HCPT-Ch-LDH on its water dispersity and drug-release. The results showed that the nanocomposite has excellent water dispersity and enhanced drug sustained-release performance in comparison with the HCPT-Ch-LDH, demonstrating that the liposome-coating for drug-LDH nanohybrids is an effective strategy to enhance their water dispersity and sustained-release performances. This work provides an effective strategy for engineering of LDH-based delivery systems for nonionic and lipophilic drugs.