Transferrin-anchored poly(lactide) based micelles to improve anticancer activity of curcumin in hepatic and cervical cancer cell monolayers and 3D spheroids

International Journal of Biological Macromolecules
Preeti KumariSwati Biswas

Abstract

In recent years, actively targeted drug delivery systems have been utilized in pre-clinical studies for site-specific delivery of drugs, which reduces toxicities associated with chemotherapy. This study reports the preparation of the tumor homing ligand, transferrin (Tf) anchored methoxy-polyethylene glycol-poly(d,l-Lactide) polymeric micelles (Tf-PP). Curcumin which possess wide anti-cancer activity was loaded into the micelles. Tf-PPC with average particle size of 132.16 ± 1.37 nm and encapsulation efficiency of 88.27 ± 2.53% showed a sustained drug release. The efficacy of Tf-PPC was studied in vitro in Tf-overexpressing human cervical carcinoma (HeLa) and human hepatoma (HepG2) cells. The mouse embryo fibroblast (NIH-3T3) cells were used as control cells. Tf-PPC showed higher internalization compared to non-targeted micelles (PPC). The curcumin-mediated cytotoxicity increased significantly following Tf-PPC treatment in both the tested cell lines. In NIH-3T3 cells, Tf conjugation did not differ in comparison to the non-targeted micelles. Further, the efficiency of Tf-PPC was studied in three-dimensional (3D) HeLa tumor spheroids. The Tf-PPC was efficiently internalized by the spheroidal structures, causing higher cytotoxicit...Continue Reading

Citations

Jan 23, 2020·Current Molecular Medicine·Ana MacedoPedro Fonte
Apr 14, 2020·International Journal of Nanomedicine·Muhammad Muzamil KhanMuhammad Imran Khan
Nov 6, 2020·Journal of Ovarian Research·Mohammad Hossein PourhanifehHamed Mirzaei
Aug 20, 2019·Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters·Surendar ChittiKondapalli Venkata Gowri Chandra Sekhar
Jan 22, 2019·International Journal of Biological Macromolecules·Qihong ZhangWeike Su

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Apoptosis

Apoptosis is a specific process that leads to programmed cell death through the activation of an evolutionary conserved intracellular pathway leading to pathognomic cellular changes distinct from cellular necrosis

Apoptosis in Cancer

Apoptosis is an important mechanism in cancer. By evading apoptosis, tumors can continue to grow without regulation and metastasize systemically. Many therapies are evaluating the use of pro-apoptotic activation to eliminate cancer growth. Here is the latest research on apoptosis in cancer.