Photo-activatable ternary complex based on a multifunctional shielding material for targeted shRNA delivery in cancer treatment

A photo-activatable ternary complex (PTC) consisting of multifunctional shielding material (MSM) with photosensitizer (PS)-conjugated chondroitin sulfate and polyethyleneimine based binary complexes containing epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-shRNA delivery for CD44 targeted cancer therapy has been developed. The PTC has a negative surface charge of −37.9 mV, and a size of approximately 90 nm, and the ternary complexes were found to be stable against plasma proteins. The stable nanostructure of PTC especially could enable CD44-receptor mediated tumor-targeted delivery and PS-mediated endosomal disruption for efficient gene silencing, and an enhanced rate of cancer cell death was achieved both in vitro and in vivo. This suggests that PTC could represent a promising strategy for the delivery of other therapeutic genes for cancer therapy.