Aim:
In the present work, folic acid-modified human serum albumin conjugated to cationic
solid lipid nanoparticles were synthesized as nanocarriers of mitoxantrone for the treatment of breast
cancer.
Background:
Dual-targeted drug delivery is a new drug dosing strategy that is frequently used to enhance
the therapeutic efficacy of anticancer drugs.
Objective:
Dual targeting of the cancer cells was achieved by dual tagging of human serum albumin
and folic acid on the surface of the lipid nanoparticles.
Methods:
The targeted drug-loaded nanocomplexes were synthesized and characterized using transmission
electron microscopy along with photon-correlation and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopic
techniques. The anti-cancer activity of the nanocomplexes was screened against an in-vitro
model of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines to examine drug efficacy.
Results:
The entrapment efficiency and drug loading values for mitoxantrone were calculated to be 97
and 8.84%, respectively. The data from the drug release studies for the system indicated the release
profile did not significantly change within a pH range of 5.5-7.4. The hemolysis ratio of the hybrid carrier
was less than 5% even at the upper doses of 3 mg/mL, demonstrating its safety for intravenous injection
with limited hemolysis and a long blood circulation time.
Conclusion:
The cell cytotoxicity results confirmed that the drug hybrid nanocomplex was more toxic
to breast cancer cells compared with the free drug. Furthermore, the weakly cationic and small size
particles prevented opsonin binding of nanocomplexes, improving blood circulation time and cancer
tissue uptake.
