Design of magnetic hybrid nanostructured lipid carriers containing 1,8-cineole as delivery systems for anticancer drugs: Physicochemical and cytotoxic studies

Abstract

The development of versatile carriers to deliver chemotherapeutic agents to specific targets with establishing drug release kinetics and minimum undesirable side effects is becoming a promising relevant tool in the medical field. Magnetic hybrid nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) were prepared by incorporation of 1,8-cineole (CN, a monoterpene with antiproliferative properties) and maghemite nanoparticles (MNPs) into a hybrid matrix composed of myristyl myristate coated with chitosan. Hybrid NLC characterized by DLS and TEM confirmed the presence of positively charged spherical nanoparticles of around 250 nm diameter and +10.2 mV of Z-potential. CN encapsulation into the lipid core was greater than 75 % and effectively released in 24 h. Modification of the crystalline structure of nanoparticles after incorporation of CN and MNPs was observed by XRD, DSC, and TGA analyses. Superparamagnetic NLC behavior was verified by recording the magnetization using a vibrating scanning magnetometer. NLC resulted in more cytotoxic than free CN in HepG2 and A549 cell lines. Particularly, viability inhibition of HepG2 and A549 cells was increased from 35 % to 55 % and from 38 % to 61 %, respectively, when 8 mM CN was incorporated into the lipid NPs at 24 h. Green fluorescent-labeled NLC with DIOC18 showed an enhanced cellular uptake with chitosan-coated NLC. Besides, no cytotoxicity of the formulations in normal WI-38 cells was observed, suggesting that the developed hybrid NLC system is a safe and good potential candidate for the selective delivery and potentiation of anticancer drugs.