Quercetin loaded-magnetic zeolite nano-composite material and evaluate its anti-cancer effect

Quercetin (QUR) is a major flavonoid that is abundantly present in the human diet, and has various therapeutic effects, including anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. Of note, high doses of free QUR can be dangerous to normal cells. Furthermore, a considerable amount of free QUR would be metabolized until reaching cancerous cells. On one hand, chemotherapy drugs have some side effects towards normal cells. Besides, nano zeolite clinoptilolite (NZ-CP), a drug delivery system (DDS), has high specific surface area and is non-toxic. By applying magnetic zeolite nano-composite (MZNC), purposeful mobility of high doses of QUR, considering acidic microenvironment of tumor, is possible. The aim of this work is to evaluate and compare the anti-cancer impacts of QUR-loaded MZNC with doxorubicin (DOX) as an anti-cancer drug on HepG2 cell line as a human cancer cell line. Various concentrations of NZ-CP at different times to evaluate its safety in normal cells were assessed. Also, to assess the cell survival of the HepG2 cell line, various amounts of QUR-loaded MZNC, DOX, and NZ-CP within cell viability assay were investigated. Based on results of normal cells assay, it was revealed that NZ-CP has no toxicity toward normal cells. Furthermore, according to evaluations of cell viability assay, it was determined that specific concentrations (100 and 200 mg/L) of QUR have a similar anti-cancer effect to DOX. Eventually, it was exhibited that NZ-CP has capability of controlled QUR release until reaching cancerous cells demonstrating its aptitude for drug delivery.