Self-assembling Dextran prodrug for redox- and pH-responsive co-delivery of therapeutics in cancer cells

[Display omitted] •Self-assembling dextran prodrug was prepared and used to obtain polymeric vesicles.•Doxorubicin and Camptothecin were co-delivered following pH- and redox-responsive profiles.•Vesicular systems enhance the drugs synergistic effect on cancer cells.•Vesicular systems protect healthy cells from drugs toxicity. Self-assembling prodrug containing pH- and redox-responsive functional groups was prepared by covalent conjugation of Doxorubicin (Dox) and lipoic acid (LA) to a polyaldehyde Dextran (PAD). The resultant amphiphilic DoxPADLA forms, in a single step, hemocompatible vesicular systems able to respond to intracellular signals without using external crosslinking agents. Camptothecin (CPT) was encapsulated exploiting the hydrophobic interactions with the vesicle membrane, and release experiments, carried out in media mimicking the physiological and endolysosomial compartments, in the absence or presence of Glutathione, proved the ability of the system to modulate drug release in relation to the variation of pH and redox potential. Cytotoxicity assays and confocal experiments demonstrated the efficacy of the vesicle formulation in enhancing the synergistic anticancer effect of the delivered Dox and CPT and a rapid and significant internalization of the carrier in cancer cells.