Vitamin C, which promotes oxidative stress, has emerged as an alternative to conventional chemotherapy for treating cancers. However, owing to its cytotoxicity, vitamin C should be delivered to cells in its oxidized form, dehydroascorbate (DHA). Glutathione (GSH)-responsive nanoparticles (G-NPs) have been prepared as potential carriers of DHA by incorporating diselenide-based amphiphilic lipids into the liposomal membrane. Bare liposomes without diselenide-based lipids were prepared as control NPs; these exhibited particle sizes and surface charges comparable to those of G-NPs. DHA was physically encapsulated in NPs using the dehydration-rehydration method. DHA-loaded G-NPs induced much higher GSH depletion in HT29 colon cancer cells than DHA-loaded controls. Interestingly, DHA-loaded G-NPs significantly increased the intracellular levels of reactive oxygen species, implying enhanced oxidative stress by stimuli-responsive DHA release. Consequently, DHA-loaded G-NPs exhibited significant cytotoxicity against HT29 colon cancer cells. Overall, G-NPs might serve as potential carriers for intracellular delivery of DHA during cancer treatment.

促进氧化应激的维生素C已成为治疗癌症的常规化学疗法的替代品。但是，由于其细胞毒性，维生素C应该以其氧化形式脱氢抗坏血酸（DHA）传递到细胞中。谷胱甘肽（GSH）响应纳米颗粒（G-NPs）已通过将基于二硒化物的两亲脂质掺入脂质体膜中而制备为DHA的潜在载体。将不含基于二硒化物的脂质的裸露脂质体制备为对照NPs。它们具有与G-NP相当的粒径和表面电荷。使用脱水-再水化方法将DHA物理封装在NP中。加载DHA的G-NPs在HT29结肠癌细胞中诱导的GSH耗竭比加载DHA的对照组高得多。有趣的是，加载DHA的G-NPs显着增加了细胞内活性氧的水平，这意味着通过刺激响应性DHA的释放增强了氧化应激。因此，DHA加载G-NPs表现出明显的针对HT29结肠癌细胞的细胞毒性。总体而言，G-NPs可以作为癌症治疗过程中DHA细胞内递送的潜在载体。