Cationic Albumin Nanoparticles for Enhanced Drug Delivery to Treat Breast Cancer: Preparation and In Vitro Assessment

Abstract

Most anticancer drugs are greatly limited by the serious side effects that they cause. Doxorubicin (DOX) is an antineoplastic agent, commonly used against breast cancer. However, it may lead to irreversible cardiotoxicity, which could even result in congestive heart failure. In order to avoid these harmful side effects to the patients and to improve the therapeutic efficacy of doxorubicin, we developed DOX-loaded polyethylenimine- (PEI-) enhanced human serum albumin (HSA) nanoparticles. The formed nanoparticles were ~137 nm in size with a surface zeta potential of ~+15 mV, prepared using 20 μg of PEI added per mg of HSA. Cytotoxicity was not observed with empty PEI-enhanced HSA nanoparticles, formed with low-molecular weight (25 kDa) PEI, indicating biocompatibility and safety of the nanoparticle formulation. Under optimized transfection conditions, approximately 80% of cells were transfected with HSA nanoparticles containing tetramethylrhodamine-conjugated bovine serum albumin. Conclusively, PEI-enhanced HSA nanoparticles show potential for developing into an effective carrier for anticancer drugs.

Dasatinib-loaded albumin nanoparticles possess diminished endothelial cell barrier disruption and retain potent anti-leukemia cell activity

“…Meanwhile, the adverse effects of drugs may be effectively eliminated by employing NPs as a drug carrier. Albumin NPs have become a promising carrier for drug delivery due to their merits in bioavailability, biocompatibility and biodegradability [15, 16]. It was reported that piceatannol-loaded albumin NPs were able to prevent vascular inflammation by targeting activated neutrophils adherent to inflamed endothelium [17].…”

Nanoparticles in relation to peptide and protein aggregation

“…19 Owing to their high surface area-to-volume ratio, it is possible to achieve high ligand density on the surface for targeting purposes. In terms of composition, nanoparticles are comprised of mainly two parts: the core material and the surface modifier that may be engaged to change the physiochemical properties of the former.…”

Nanorobotic Applications in Medicine: Current Proposals and Designs

“…To date, some examples of what nanotechnology has enabled include the development of improved imaging techniques for higher sensitivity in detection of cancer and illness 2 , improved targeting of drug treatments 3 , decrease in the number of adverse effects of chemotherapy, and the enhanced effectiveness of other antineoplastic therapies such as cryotherapy 4 and ultrasound 5 . Outside of medicine, nanotechnology is also fueling developoments in agriculture 6 , energy 7 , electronics 8 , and many other fields.…”