Novel formulation of parthenolide-loaded liposome coated with chitosan and evaluation of its potential anticancer effects in vitro

• Published in: Molecular biology reports 2024-12, Vol.51 (1), p.369-369, Article 369
• Main Authors: Ensaf, Parisa Karimian, Goodarzi, Mohammad Taghi, Tabrizi, Masoud Homayouni, Neamati, Ali, Hosseinyzadeh, Samira Sadat
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal Anatomy; Animal Biochemistry; antineoplastic agents; Antineoplastic drugs; Apoptosis; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Cancer; chemical interactions; Chitosan; Chitosan - pharmacology; Cytotoxicity; dose response; encapsulation; Flow cytometry; Histology; Life Sciences; Liposomes; Morphology; Natural products; Original Article; permeability; quantitative polymerase chain reaction; Sesquiterpenes - pharmacology; Zeta potential
• ISSN: 0301-4851; 1573-4978
• DOI: 10.1007/s11033-024-09325-8

Background In this study the formulation of parthenolide (PN), an anticancer agent extracted from a natural product, into a liposome (PN-liposome), was examined. The surface of the PN-liposome was modified using chitosan (PN-chitosome). By using real-time quantitative PCR and flow cytometry, we examined the release of PN-chitosomes, cytotoxicity, and ability to induce apoptosis in vitro. Methods and results According to the present study, PN-chitosomes had a size of 251 nm which is acceptable for efficient enhanced permeation and retention (EPR) performance. PN-chitosomes were confirmed to be spherical in shape and size through FESEM analysis. In terms of encapsulation efficiency, 94.5% was achieved. PN-chitosome possessed a zeta potential of 34.72 mV, which was suitable for its stability. According to the FTIR spectra of PN and PN-chitosome, PN was chemically stable due to the intermolecular interaction between the liposome and the drug. After 48 h, only 10% of the PN was released from the PN-chitosome in PBS (pH 7.4), and less than 20% was released after 144 h. Conclusion In a dose-dependent manner, PN-chitosome exhibited anticancer properties that were more cytotoxic against cancer cells than normal cells. Moreover, the formulation activated both the apoptosis pathway and cytotoxic genes in real-time qPCR experiments. According to the cytotoxicity and activating apoptosis of the prepared modified particle, PN-chitosome may be helpful in the treatment of cancer.