ABSTRACT
Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution and liver-targeting properties of quercetin (QT)/coumarin 6 (C6)-loaded polylactic-co-glycolic acid-D-α-tocopherol polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (PLGA-TPGS) nanoparticles (QCPTN) in a hepatocarcinoma ectopic transplantation solid tumor model using HCa-F cell-bearing mice.Methods The QT concentrations in biological samples were determined using reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) analysis.After intravenous administration to mice in the QCPTN and QTS groups,the QT concentration in plasma and in different tissues was simultaneously analyzed at the different time points.Detection indexes (relative targeting efficiency,Re;targeting efficiency,Te) and fluorescence inversion microscopy images of the frozen tissue (liver,solid tumor,spleen,lungs,kidneys,and heart) slices were used for quantitatively and qualitatively evaluating the liver-targeting properties of QCPTN in solid tumor-bearing mice.Results Te of the QCPTN group in the plasma,liver,solid tumor,spleen,lungs,kidneys,and heart were all greater than 3,indicating that the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) of liver was more than three times that of the plasma and other organs.Fluorescence inversion microscopy images showed that the green fluorescence of QCPTN was mostly observed in the liver.Conclusion Using HCa-F cell-beating mice,QCPTN was found to have better in vivo liver-targeting properties in hepatocarcinoma ectopic transplantation solid tumor.