In vitro comparative studies of Zein nanoparticles and composite Chitosan thermogels based injectable formulation of Doxorubicin

Abstract

Surgical intervention of the solid tumours is the most preferred cancer treatment strategy in the current scenario. But, the main issue is that there is always a probability of resurrection of tumor due to the fact that not all cancer cells can be removed completely. In order to overcome this, controlled delivery of the therapeutic agents into the tumor region after the surgical removal of tumor seems to be a viable option. We developed a composite injectable Chitosan gel (DZ-CGs) comprising of Doxorubicin loaded Zein nanoparticles (DOX-SC ZNPs) which flows (in their sol state) and can take up the exact shape of the void (created by the surgical removal of the tumor) and becomes gel (at physiological temperature). DOX-SC ZNPs were synthesized by anti-solvent nano-precipitation method. The size and zeta potential of DOX-SC ZNPs were found to be 120 ± 16 nm and −26.97 mV respectively. In vitro drug release profiles of DZ-CGs were found to be more controlled when compared to DOX-SC ZNPs. In vitro cyto-toxicity studies of DOX-SC ZNPs and DZ-CGs were compared on human breast cancer cell lines using Transwell insert method and found that composite DZ-CGs were more effective in killing cancer cells when compared to DOX-SC ZNPs.