Study the Anticancer Properties of Thymol‐Loaded PEGylated Bovine Serum Albumin Nanoparticles Conjugated with Folic Acid

Abstract

Phenolic compounds such as thymol have an effective role in suppressing cancer, however, their low solubility in aqueous solution has limited their use. This study aimed to prepare thymol (TY)‐loaded bovine serum albumin (BSA) nanoparticles surface‐modified with polyethylene glycol (PEG) conjugated with folic acid (FA) and evaluate the inhibitory activity of them on cancer cells. The TY‐BSA‐PEG‐FA was characterized using DLS, FESEM, and FTIR. The effects of nanoparticles against cancer cells investigated by MTT, AO/PI, flow cytometry, and qPCR methods. The results showed that the spherical morphology of TY‐BSA‐PEG‐FA with an average size of 70.0 nm, a PDI of 0.32, a zeta potential of ‐11.3 mV, and an EE of 89%. Gastric cancer cells eported to be the most vulnerable to treatment, while pancreatic cancer cells and normal skin cells would be the most resistant. The SubG1 phase arrest and increase in apoptotic cells in fluorescent staining, along with decreased expression of Bcl‐2 and increased expression of BAX gene demonstrated the induction of apoptosis in treated cells. The powerful inhibitory effect of nanoparticles in inhibiting ABTS (IC50=82µg/ml) and DPPH (IC50=844µg/ml), the synthesized nanoparticles may be suitable for further investigation in the treatment of cancer, notably gastric cancer.