Mesoporous SBA-15 Silica–Loaded Nano-formulation of Quercetin: A Probable Radio-Sensitizer for Lung Carcinoma

Abstract

Lung cancer is considered as one of the most serious disease worldwide. The progress of drug carriers based on nonmaterial, which selectively hold chemotherapeutic agents to cancer cells, has become a major focus in biomedical research. This study aimed to evaluate the growth inhibition and apoptosis induction of the human lung cancer cells (A-549) by Q-loaded SBA-15 conjugate system. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (SBA-15) as host materials for transporting therapeutics medicaments were fabricated for targeted drug delivery toward lung cancer. With the objective of increasing bioavailability and aqueous solubility of flavonoids, SBA-15 was successfully loaded with the quercetin (Q)—a major flavonoid and characterized with the help of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The biological investigation on A549 cell line confirmed that the efficacy of Q-SBA-15 is much higher than only Q. Moreover, the apoptotic pathway of synthesized Q-SBA-15 NPs examined that the Q-SBA-15–mediated apoptosis via PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. Thus, the newly conjugated Q-SBA-15 system improved the apoptotic fate through caspase-mediated apoptosis via PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and hence, it can be potentially employed as an anticancer agent for lung cancer.

Evaluation of intracellular distribution of folate functionalized silica nanoparticles using fluorescence and hyperspectral enhanced dark field microscopy

“…When NPs are conjugated with various cytotoxic drugs, the presence of folate favors the NPs incorporation by tumoral cells. For instance, NPs conjugated with doxorubicin, 69 methotrexate, 70 or quercetin 71,72 have been shown to exert enhanced therapeutic effects compared to NPs without folate.…”

Integrating natural compounds and nanoparticle‐based drug delivery systems: A novel strategy for enhanced efficacy and selectivity in cancer therapy

“…They showed that the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway acts as the apoptotic signaling in A549 cells. 104 Titanium dioxide nanotubes (TNT) have more significant surface space for carrier particles with exceptional physical and chemical features. The effect of conjugated TNT with quercetin (TNT-Qu) on the B16F10 animal melanoma model proved that topical TNT-Qu could be applied to reduce tumor growth via regulating phospho-STAT3 levels in the tumor.…”

“…The biological examination of the A549 cancer cell line indicated the higher efficacy of Q‐SBA‐15 than quercetin alone. They showed that the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway acts as the apoptotic signaling in A549 cells 104 …”

Ordered Mesoporous Silica Delivering siRNA as Cancer Nanotherapeutics: A Comprehensive Review

“…Alkahtani et al explored SBA-15 material for loading quercetin, where the synthesized quercetin loaded SBA-15 conjugate (Q-SBA-15 NP) demonstrated increased anticancer efficacy against lung carcinoma. 48 MSU are synthesized using nonionic surfactants at neutral or mild acidic pH conditions. The MSU structural assembly is similar to MCM-41; however, it does not reveal the long-range periodicity.…”

“…Synthesis method of SBA-15 includes initially the dissolution of template Pluronic P123 in acidic conditions and then addition of silica precursor, which results in synthesis of silica having 2-D array with long 1-D channel structure. , Generally, SBA-15’s pore size varies from 4 to 12 nm, but adding swelling agents, i.e., 1,3,5 trimethylbenzene (TMB), results in increasing the pore size up to 30 nm. Alkahtani et al explored SBA-15 material for loading quercetin, where the synthesized quercetin loaded SBA-15 conjugate (Q-SBA-15 NP) demonstrated increased anticancer efficacy against lung carcinoma …”