Integrating of lipophilic platinum(IV) prodrug into liposomes for cancer therapy on patient-derived xenograft model

Platinum-based anticancer agents such as cisplatin and its analogues are widely used for treating multiple cancers. However, due to the inferior water-solubility, chemoresistance and consequent adverse side effects, their clinical applications are limited. Herein, cholesPt(IV), a lipophilic platinum(IV) prodrug was synthesized for manufacture of CholesPt(IV)-Liposomes aiming to resolve the predefined obstacles encountered by platinum drugs. Following systematic screening, CholesPt(IV)-Liposomes showed a small particle size (105.6 nm), the rapid release of platinum (Pt) ions, and notable apoptosis of cancer cells. In addition, according to the fluidity and safety results of animal experiments in mice, CholesPt(IV)-Liposomes also showed better therapeutic effect, which significantly inhibited the growth of patient-derived xenograft tumors of hepatocellular carcinoma with an inhibition ratio of 80.7%, and effectively alleviated the drug toxicity brought by traditional platinum drugs. Overall, this study provides a promising route to enhance the therapeutic efficiency of platinum drugs in cancer treatment.