Cubosomes as Delivery System to Repositioning Nitrofurantoin in Breast Cancer Management

Area of Science:

• Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Nanotechnology
• Oncology

Background:

• Nitrofurantoin, an antibiotic for urinary tract infections, is activated by nitroreductases.
• Breast cancer cells often express nitroreductase genes, presenting an opportunity for targeted therapy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate nitrofurantoin-loaded cubosomes for potential breast cancer treatment.
• To investigate the enhanced efficacy of nitrofurantoin cubosomes compared to free nitrofurantoin.

Main Methods:

• Nitrofurantoin cubosomes were formulated using hot homogenization and a 2^3 full factorial design.
• Key formulation parameters included drug-to-oily phase ratio, oily-to-aqueous phase ratio, and Glyceryl mono-oleate to Poloxamer 407 ratio.
• Characterization involved particle size, zeta potential, polydispersity index, entrapment efficiency, TEM, and MTT assay for cytotoxicity.

Main Results:

• The optimal formulation (S6) exhibited a particle size of 45.5 nm and 98.6% entrapment efficiency.
• Nitrofurantoin cubosomes showed a significantly lower IC50 value (83.99 μg/mL) compared to free nitrofurantoin (174.54 μg/mL) against MCF-7 breast cancer cells.
• TEM analysis confirmed the morphology of the S6 cubosomal formulation.

Conclusions:

• Nitrofurantoin cubosomes demonstrate enhanced anti-cancer efficacy, suggesting potential for breast cancer management.
• Further in-vivo studies and stability assessments are recommended to validate the therapeutic potential of nitrofurantoin cubosomes.