Self-assembly and self-delivery of the pure nanodrug dihydroartemisinin for tumor therapy and mechanism analysis.

Dihydroartemisinin (DHA), a plant-derived natural product, has recently been proven to be an effective therapeutic agent for cancer treatment. Nevertheless, the poor water solubility and low bioavailability of DHA seriously impede its clinical applications. Herein, a simple and green strategy based on the self-assembly of DHA was developed to synthesize carrier-free nanoparticles (NPs).