Abstract:Objective Preparation of a lanthanum coordination polymer with targeted antitumor effects. Methods A lanthanide coordination polymer antitumor drug delivery system (HA@DAL), modified by hyaluronic acid, was prepared by hydrothermal synthesis using lanthanum nitrate hexahydrate, hyaluronic acid (HA), and 4- dimethylaminobenzoic acid (DABA) as raw materials. Particle size distribution, zeta potential, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction, infrared and ultraviolet spectroscopy were used to study the physicochemical properties of HA@DAL and the lanthanide coordination polymer (DAL). The anti-tumor effects of DAL and HA@DAL were compared using CCK8 assay, apoptosis analysis, and live cell imaging. The in vivo distribution of HA@DAL in tumor-bearing mice was examined by live animal imaging. Results DAL and HA@DAL were successfully prepared. The average particle size was (75.23 ± 8.39) nm, the polydispersity index was 0.19 ± 0.22, and the zeta potential was (-30.60 ± 3.48) mV. The fluorescence characteristics of lanthanum metal were retained. Cytotoxicity and apoptosis assays showed that HA@DAL possessed stronger antitumor activity compared with DAL(P<0.01), and exhibited similar cytotoxicity compared with the same dose of DOX (P>0.05). In vitro live cell imaging results showed that DAL could be taken up by cells, causing them to emit blue fluorescence but lacked selectivity, whereas HA@DAL had good tumor-targeting ability. Animal live imaging results showed that HA@DAL could reach the tumor site precisely. Conclusion The prepared HA@DAL has promising prospects for tumor-targeted therapeutic applications and provides an experimental basis for the development of novel nanodrug delivery systems.