Plumbagin (5‐hydroxy‐2‐methyl‐1,4‐naphthoquinone), human holo‐transferrin (Tf), hydrogenated phosphatidylcholine, cholesterol, and all other chemicals that are not specifically mentioned below were purchased from Sigma Aldrich (Poole, UK). 1,2‐Distearoyl‐sn‐glycero‐3‐phosphoethanolamine‐N‐(carbonyl‐methoxypolyethyleneglycol 2000), sodium salt (DSPE‐PEG) came from NOF Corporation (Tokyo, Japan). cholesterol‐PEG5000‐maleimide was obtained from Nanocs (New York, NY).
A431 human epidermoid carcinoma and T98G glioblastoma were purchased from the European Collection of Cell Cultures (Salisbury, UK), while Bioware® B16‐F10‐luc‐G5 mouse melanoma that expresses the firefly luciferase was obtained from Caliper Life Sciences (Hopkinton, MA). Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium and Roswell Park Memorial Institute (RPMI) 1640 cell culture media, foetal bovine serum,l ‐glutamine, and penicillin–streptomycin were purchased from Life Technologies (Paisley, UK). Passive lysis buffer was obtained from Promega (Southampton, UK). Vectashield® mounting medium containing 4′,6‐diamidino‐2‐phenylindole (DAPI) was obtained from Vector Laboratories (Peterborough, UK). BD Pharmingen® fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) Annexin V Apoptosis Detection Kit I was purchased from BD Biosciences (Franklin Lakes, NJ).
A431 human epidermoid carcinoma and T98G glioblastoma were purchased from the European Collection of Cell Cultures (Salisbury, UK), while Bioware® B16‐F10‐luc‐G5 mouse melanoma that expresses the firefly luciferase was obtained from Caliper Life Sciences (Hopkinton, MA). Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium and Roswell Park Memorial Institute (RPMI) 1640 cell culture media, foetal bovine serum,