Vincristine-loaded hydroxyapatite nanoparticles as a potential delivery system for bone cancer therapy

Abstract

Despite advances in the development of new therapeutic agents and diagnostic imaging techniques, the 5-year survival of osteosarcoma, the most common type of bone cancer, remains practically unaltered for the last three decades at around 60%. Nanoparticle-based carriers have emerged as new class of drug delivery systems that could potentially overcome conventional chemotherapy limitations, by promoting a better drug biodistribution profile by allowing a preferential accumulation of the drug in the desired tissue, while minimising non-targeted tissue toxicity, thus resulting in an improved overall therapeutic effectiveness. Hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (HANP) are known to be biocompatible and non-immunogenic and have shown to be preferentially accumulated in bone tissues being considered a promising carrier to bone tissues. Herein, we successfully synthesised mesoporous hydroxyapatite nanoparticles with mean size of 285.32 ± 10.29 nm and superficial area of 103.5 m/g, containing significant quantities of chemotherapeutic drug vincristine. A spectrophotometric method was developed and validated aiming to quantify the vincristine (VCR)-loaded in nanoparticles. Chorioallantoic membrane assay revealed relevant anti-angiogenic activity of system, leading to accentuated reduction in the number of blood vessels in fertilised eggs. Findings presented in this paper suggested that VCR-loaded HANP has a promising future as a nanocarrier for bone cancer treatment.

The Chorioallantoic Membrane Assay in Nanotoxicological Research—An Alternative for In Vivo Experimentation

“…Free access to the CAM allows a variety of analytical methods (Figure 1) [57]. While some researchers evaluate chemical irritation of a specific substance on the CAM [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31], further investigation such as vascularization or developmental changes can also be addressed [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45].…”

“…Since the opening of the eggshell allows direct observation of the CAM optical evaluation by microscopy [29,[31][32][33]36,37,[42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50]52] as well as imaging techniques such as ultrasonography [85], computed tomography [86], and magnetic resonance tomography [87] have been successfully used in the CAM assay (Figure 1).…”

Recent advances of drug delivery nanocarriers in osteosarcoma treatment

“…Calcium phosphates (CaP) nanoparticles, particularly hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (HANPs), are considered as promising nanocarriers to bone tissues because they are biocompatible, biodegradable, non-immunogenic, PH-sensitive and facilely modifiable, and have shown to be preferentially accumulated in bone tissues 91-94. CaP-based nanoparticles have been widely used for delivery of anticancer drugs in osteosarcoma treatment 92, 93, 95-97.…”

“…These drug-loaded nanocomposites showed a prolonged drug release at PH 7.4, and faster release at PH 4.5, and exhibited anticancer activity on osteosarcoma cells. Based on the idea that like should cure like and that bone diseases and deformities are best targeted and treated using one or more components of bone itself, hydroxyapatite, a mineral matrix that resembles the crystallographic structure of natural bone, has been considered as an ideal carrier for drug delivery to bone diseases, such as osteosarcoma 92, 95, 97. In addition, HANPs have been reported to possess the ability for inhibiting cancer cell growth in vitro and in vivo , and show less cytotoxicity to normal cells 98.…”

Hydroxyapatite/nifuroxazide conjugate: Characterization, drug release and antimicrobial activity

“…[2][3][4][5][6] Drug carriers based on HAp have been of particular interest during the last decades, especially for the promising treatment of bone infections, arthritis, cancer and cardiovascular diseases. [7][8][9] Nifuroxazide (C 12 H 9 N 3 O 5 , NFX), poorly water-soluble drug which belongs to the class of nitrofuran derivatives, shows the significant antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus or Streptococcus spp., and Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli or Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Because of the presence of nitro group in the structure, NFX is efficient in the treatment of infections in the gastrointestinal and urogenital tracts, and it is known to have a bacteriostatic effect in small doses as well as a bactericidal effect in high doses.…”