Drug delivery systems such as nanoparticles can provide enhanced efficacy for anticancer agents. Noscapine, a widely used cough suppressant for decades has recently been shown to cause significant inhibition and regression of tumor volumes without any detectable toxicity in cells or tissues. Nanoparticles made of human serum albumin (HSA) represent promising strategy for targeted drug delivery to tumor cells by enhancing the drug's bioavailability and distribution, and reducing the body's response towards drug resistance. In the present study, we report for the first time the incorporation and delivery of noscapine-loaded HSA nanoparticles to tumor cells. The nanoparticles were designed and optimized to achieve a particle size in the range of 150-300 nm with a drug-loading efficiency of 85%-96%. The nanoparticles were evaluated in vitro for their anticancer activity and efficacy on breast cancer cells.

These particles have potential in the delivery of siRNA to neural tissues.

Carbon nanotubes are a novel class of nanomaterials that have great potential in the field of biomedical research. This study investigates the cytotoxic effects of functionalized single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) at different concentrations on a colon cancer cell line. Colorectal cancer cells were exposed to single walled carbon nanotubes functionalized with a green fluorescent protein expressing plasmid. The internalization of the nanotube-plasmid DNA complexes and their cytotoxicity were analyzed. The results indicate successful functionalization of the nanotubes and subsequent internalization of the nanotube-plasmid DNA complex by the cancer cells. The cytotoxicity was found to be significantly lower compared to a control. Cell viability was shown to have reduced with an increase in carbon nanotube concentration implying that SWNTs can be cytotoxic at higher dosages. The results show that SWNTs can be successfully used in gene delivery applications and their cytotoxic effects can be limited by optimizing the dosage levels.