Double-effective chitosan scaffold-PLGA nanoparticle system for brain tumour therapy: in vitro study

The chitosan scaffold, which has both of anticancer and antivascularization effects, was developed for using in local therapy of brain tumours. This is why, poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid (50:50) nanoparticles (~200 nm) including an anticancer drug, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), were prepared by emulsion-solvent evaporation method. Then, these nanoparticles and antivascularization agent, bevacizumab, were loaded into the scaffold during manufacturing by freeze-drying and embedding after freeze-drying, respectively. The idea behind this system is to destroy tumour tissue by releasing 5-FU and to prevent the proliferation of tumour cells by releasing bevacizumab. In addition, 3D scaffold can support healthy tissue formation in the tumourigenic region. In vitro effectiveness of this system was investigated on T98G human glioblastoma cell line and human umbilical vein endothelial cells. The results show that the chitosan scaffold containing 100 µg 5-FU and 100 µg bevacizumab has a potential to prevent the tumour formation in vitro conditions.