Tailored Design of ROS Responsive Drug Release Platform for Enhanced Tumor Therapy via "Sequential Induced Activation Processes"

The ROS responsive intelligent drug delivery system has developed rapidly in recent years. However, due to the low concentration of ROS in most types of tumor cells, it is not possible to rapidly and effectively stimulate the drug delivery system to release the active drug. Here, we introduced "Sequential induced activation processes" for efficient tumor therapy by designing the new ROS responsive drug release platform. β-lapachone, positively charged nitrogen mustard prodrug and two diblock molecules (mPEG-AcMH and PAsp-AcMH) are self-assembled to form prodrug primary micelles, which are further aggregated into nanoparticles that facilitates drug co-delivery. When administered by intravenous injection, the nanoparticles reach the tumor site and enter the tumor cells by endocytosis. The β-lapachone released in the tumor cells induces a large amount of H2O2, and the ROS responsive nitrogen mustard prodrug is activated to form activated nitrogen mustard, quinone methide and boric acid under the induction of...