Background:
Chelidonine is a potent anticancer against several cell lines. However, low bioavailability and
water solubility restrict the clinical applications of this compound.
Objective:
The aim of this research was to develop a novel formulation of chelidonine encapsulated in the nanoparticles of poly(d l-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) employing vitamin E D-α-tocopherol acid polyethylene glycol 1000
succinate (E TPGS) as a modifier to increase bioavailability.
Methods:
Chelidonine-encapsulated PLGA nanoparticles were fabricated using a single emulsion method and modified by various concentrations of E TPGS. Nanoparticles were recognized in terms of morphology, surface charge,
drug release, size, drug loading, and encapsulation efficiency to obtain the optimized formulation. The cytotoxicity of
different nanoformulations in HT-29 cells was evaluated using the MTT assay. The cells were stained with propidium
iodide and annexin V solution to evaluate apoptosis using flow cytometry.
Results:
Spherical nanoparticles prepared with 2% (w/v) of E TPGS had the optimum formulation in the nanometer
size range (153± 12.3 nm), with a surface charge of -14.06 ± 2.21 mV, encapsulation efficiency of 95.58 ± 3.47 %,
drug loading of 33.13 ± 0.19%, and drug release profile of 73.54 ± 2.33. In comparison with non-modified nanoparticles and free chelidonine, E TPGS-modified nanoformulations improved anti-cancer capability even after three-months
storage.
Conclusion:
Our results showed that E TPGS is an effective biomaterial for surface modification of nanoparticles,
which can serve as a potential treatment for cancer.