Nanocarriers have been researched comprehensively for the development of novel boron-containing agents in boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). We designed and synthesized a multifunctional mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSN)-based boron-containing agent. The latter was coated with a lipid bilayer (LB) and decorated with SP94 peptide (SFSIIHTPILPL) on the surface as SP94-LB@BA-MSN. The latter incorporated boric acid (BA) into hydrophobic mesopores, coated with an LB, and modified with SP94 peptide on the LB. SP94-LB@BA-MSN enhanced nano interface tumor-targeting ability but also prevented the premature release of drugs, which is crucial for BNCT because adequate boron content in tumor sites is required. SP94-LB@BA-MSN showed excellent efficacy in the BNCT treatment of HepG-2 cells. In animal studies with tumor-bearing mice, SP94-LB@BA-MSN exhibited a satisfactory accumulation at the tumor site. The boron content reached 40.18 ± 5.41 ppm in the tumor site 4 h after injection, which was 8.12 and 15.51 times higher than those in mice treated with boronated phenylalanine and those treated with BA. For boron, the tumor-to-normal tissue ratio was 4.41 ± 1.13 and the tumor-to-blood ratio was 5.92 ± 0.45. These results indicated that nanoparticles delivered boron to the tumor site effectively while minimizing accumulation in normal tissues. In conclusion, this composite (SP94-LB@BA-MSN) shows great promise as a boron-containing delivery agent for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma using BNCT. These findings highlight the potential of MSNs in the field of BNCT.
Keywords: boron neutron capture therapy; liver cancer; mesoporous silica nanoparticles; nano interface; tumor targeting.