Codelivery of salinomycin and chloroquine by liposomes enables synergistic antitumor activity in vitro

Aim: To improve the suboptimal therapeutic efficacy of salinomycin (SAL) toward liver cancer cells using chloroquine (CQ) combination by the liposomes co-delivering SAL and CQ (SCNL). Materials & methods: The synergy of these two drugs was evaluated in liver cancer cells (HepG2) and liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs) by median-effect analysis. SCNL with optimized ratio were developed. The cytotoxic effect and basal autophagy flux (measure of autophagic degradation activity) of various formulations were evaluated. Results & conclusion: CQ could significantly increase the cytotoxic effect of SAL in HepG2 cells, but not in HepG2-LCSCs, due to the greater basal autophagy flux in HepG2 cells. This combination therapy is promising for liver cancer treatment by eradicating liver cancer cells and LCSCs.