Abstract
Naringenin (NAR), a flavonoid present in a variety of fruits, vegetables and herbs, exhibits a wide range of pharmacological effects, including anticancer activity. Nevertheless, its application in cancer therapy is limited due to its low bioavailability at the tumour site because of its poor solubility in water and slow dissolution rate. To improve the therapeutic efficacy of NAR, emergent research is looking into using nanocarriers. Silk fibroin (SF), from the Bombyx mori silkworm, is a biocompatible and biodegradable polymer with excellent mechanical properties and an amphiphilic chemistry that make it a promising candidate as a controlled release drug system. The aim of this work is to synthesize naringenin-loaded silk fibroin nanoparticles (NAR-SFNs) by dissolving the SF in the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate, using high-power ultrasounds and rapid desolvation in methanol followed by the adsorption of NAR. The NAR-SFNs were characterized by dynamic light scattering, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. The drug loading content and encapsulation efficiency were calculated. The drug release profile best fitted a first order equation. The cytotoxicity effects of free NAR, bare silk fibroin nanoparticles (SFNs) and NAR-SFNs were assessed on HeLa and EA.hy926 cells via 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The results demonstrated the higher in vitro anticancer potential of synthesized NAR-SFNs than that of free NAR in HeLa cancer cells.
Highlights
Naringenin (5,7-dihydroxy-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)chroman-4-one, NAR) is a natural aglycone flavonoid and metabolite of naringin
Over the course of 12 days, the concentration of the NAR/ethanol solution exposed to light and room temperature decreased from 0.279 to 0.235 g/L, while the concentration of the solution kept in the fridge decreased from 0.279 to 0.271 g/L
NAR-silk fibroin nanoparticles (SFNs) were successfully synthesized by dissolving Silk fibroin (SF) in the ionic liquid [emim+][acetate−] using high power ultrasounds and via atomization in methanol, followed by the adsorption of NAR during incubation
Summary
Naringenin (5,7-dihydroxy-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)chroman-4-one, NAR) is a natural aglycone flavonoid and metabolite of naringin. It is widely distributed in a variety of fruits, vegetables and herbs. Its beneficial pharmacological effects on biological systems as an anticancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective and anti-mutagenic compound have been described [1]. The antioxidant abilities of NAR have been attributed to its chemical structure, in which the three hydroxyl groups in its aromatic rings can donate hydrogen to reactive oxygen species (ROS) [2]. ROS are highly reactive compounds and products of oxygen metabolism in cells. Cancer cells exhibit high levels of ROS, which help to propagate mutation through the oxidation of DNA, and have many other damaging effects [3]. In attempts to overcome these problems and to allow the clinical applications of this compound in humans, the use of novel drug delivery systems (NDDS) has shown great promise [5,6,7]
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