Assessment of carboxymethyl chitosan loaded-amygdalin nanoparticles as biocompatible drug delivery vehicle for anti-tumor efficacy

Abstract

Nowadays, the development of anti-tumor drugs has been dedicated to natural products. Amygdalin is a natural herbal cyanoglycoside that has anticarcinogenic effect on many types of cancers once hydrogen cyanide (HCN)is released. It appears that if amygdalin is encapsulated in the nano-formulation, the cytotoxic effect on malignant cells can be enhanced, producing a synergistic effect while protecting normal cells and tissues.In this study, carboxymethyl chitosan nanoparticles (CMC NPs) encapsulated with amygdalin were prepared and characterized through their particle size, surface charge, chemical structure and dielectric properties.Also, the invitro drug release of amygdalin from CMC NPs was studied. Additionally, the cytotoxcity of the amygdalin and CMC-loaded amygdalin NPs were evaluated through MTT assay.The results showed that theCMC-loaded amygdalin NPs exhibited a small nano-size of 129 nm, high zeta potential value of -43 mV and confirmed the amygdalin stability and compatibility with CMC NPs. Furthermore, the CMC NPs demonstrated sustained release of amygdalin during 24 hours.Moreover, compared to free amygdalin, amygdalin-loaded CMC NPs have significant anti-cancerous effect on human colon HCT-116 and breast MCF-7 cancer cell lines while being safe on normal cells BJ1.In conclusion, CMC NPs can be employed as an efficient drug delivery vehicle for controlled and sustained release of amygdalin with enhanced cytotoxicity on malignant cells without harming normal cells.