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Aripiprazole-loaded niosome/chitosan-gold nanoparticles for breast cancer chemo-photo therapy
Sajjad Alimohammadvand1,2, Masoumeh Kaveh Zenjanab1, Parvin Samadi Pakchin1
1Research Center for Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology, Biomedicine Institute, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Introduction:
Breast cancer, a formidable global health challenge for women, necessitates innovative therapeutic strategies with enhanced efficacy and minimal side effects. Aripiprazole (ARI), a widely used schizophrenia medication, exhibits promising potential in the treatment of breast cancer. As cancer therapy evolves towards a combination approach, multimodal nano-based delivery systems, such as ARI-loaded niosomes (NIOs) combined with Chitosan-Au nanoparticles for chemo-photothermal therapy, show promise over traditional chemotherapy alone by enhancing targeted efficacy and minimizing side effects.
Methods:
In this study, a niosomal formulation was designed, incorporating ARI and chitosan-coated AuNPs (i.e. NIOs/AuNPs-CS/ARI), to study the synergistic effect of photothermal/chemotherapy in breast cancer cells.
Results:
The nanosystems were characterized using UV-Vis spectroscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), confirming the successful synthesis steps. The hydrodynamic diameter of NIOs/AuNPs-CS was determined to be 44.62 nm with a zeta potential of -0.836. Also, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscopical (FE-SEM) analysis were performed to assess the size and morphology of NPs. The loading efficiency of ARI in NIOs and NIOs/AuNPs-CS was 75% and 88%, respectively. Furthermore, the release rate of the drug from NIOs/AuNPs-CS is higher than blank NIOs at two pH values (5.8 and 7.4). The cellular uptake of AuNPs-CS-encapsulated NIOs was considerably higher than that of blank NIOs. The Annexin V/PI staining assay showed that the apoptosis/necrosis rate was high in NIOs/AuNPs-CS/ARI (46%) and NIOs/ARI (36%) in 48 h. The results of MTT assessments demonstrated higher cytotoxicity by ARI-loaded NPs. The viability of MCF-7 cells treated with NIOs/AuNPs-CS/ARI was reduced from 60% and 50% to 40% and 20%, respectively, after 24 and 48 h upon laser irradiation.
Conclusion:
The results of this experiment demonstrated the remarkable effectiveness of NIOs/AuNPs-CS/ARI in cancer treatment, owing to their unique properties, including the PTT capability and pH sensitivity.
