Anti-CD123 antibody-modified niosomes for targeted delivery of daunorubicin against acute myeloid leukemia

AbstractA novel niosomal delivery system was designed and investigated for the targeted delivery of daunorubicin (DNR) against acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Anti-CD123 antibodies conjugated to Mal-PEG2000-DSPE were incorporated into normal niosomes (NS) via a post insertion method to afford antibody-modified niosomes (CD123-NS). Next, NS was modified with varying densities of antibody (0.5 or 2%, antibody/Span 80, molar ratio), thus providing L-CD123-NS and H-CD123-NS. We studied the effect of antibody density on the uptake efficiency of niosomes in NB4 and THP-1 cells, on which CD123 express differently. Our results demonstrate CD123-NS showed significantly higher uptake efficiency than NS in AML cells, and the uptake efficiency of CD123-NS has been ligand density-dependent. Also, AML cells preincubated with anti-CD123 antibody showed significantly reduced cellular uptake of CD123-NS compared to control. Further study on the uptake mechanism confirmed a receptor-mediated endocytic process. Daunorubicin (...