Multifunctional human serum albumin nanoparticles encapsulating IR820 near infrared dye and doxorubicin for combinatorial therapy against cancer

Combinatorial therapy has gained interest in cancer treatment due to its ability to simultaneously provide chemotherapeutic, photothermal, and contrast imaging agents. In this study, a combinatorial therapeutic agent was synthesized, consisting of IR-820, a near-infrared dye, and doxorubicin (DOX), a chemotherapeutic drug. In addition, the study evaluates the use of human serum albumin (HSA) nanoparticles as a biocompatible drug delivery agent for the combinatorial therapeutic agent. The human serum albumin nanoparticles containing IR820-DOX have a particle size of 156 nm and a zeta potential of –16.5 mV as measured using dynamic light scattering. The results from this study demonstrate that these therapeutic agents can be released from human serum albumin nanoparticles by the presence of an enzyme (collagenase type II). These findings highlight the potential for using human serum albumin for enzymatic delivery of a combinatorial drug and imaging agent. This may lead to more targeted and improved synergistic therapeutic outcomes in cancer treatment.