Cholesterol-conjugated poly(D, L-lactide)-based micelles as a nanocarrier system for effective delivery of curcumin in cancer therapy.
Polymeric micelles have been widely explored preclinically as suitable delivery systems for poorly soluble chemotherapeutic drugs in cancer therapy. The present study reported the development of cholesterol (Ch)-conjugated poly(D,L-Lactide) (PLA)-based polymeric micelles (mPEG-PLA-Ch) for effective encapsulation and delivery of curcumin (CUR) at the tumor site. Cholesterol conjugation dramatically affected the particle size and improved drug loading (DL) and encapsulation efficiency (EE). mPEG-PLA-Ch-CUR showed bigger hydrodynamic diameter (104.6 ± 2.1 nm, and 169.3 ± 1.52 nm for mPEG-PLA and mPEG-PLA-Ch, respectively) due to increased size of the hydrophobic core. The newly developed polymer exhibited low critical micelles concentration (CMC) (25 μg/mL) which is close to lipid-based polymer, PEG-phosphatidyl ethanolamine (12.5 μg/mL) compared to mPEG-PLA (50 μg/mL). mPEG-PLA-Ch micelles exhibited relatively higher EE (93.74 ± 1.6%) and DL (11.86 ± 0.8%) compared to mPEG-PLA micelles (EE 91.89 ± 1.2% and DL 11.06 ± 0.8%). mPEG-PLA-Ch micelles were internalized by the cancer cells effectively and exhibited higher cytotoxicity compared to free CUR in both, murine melanoma (B16F10) and human breast cancer (MDA-MB-231) cells. mPEG-PLA-Ch exhibited satisfactory hemocompatibility indicating their potential for systemic application. Further, mPEG-PLA-Ch-CUR demonstrated higher rate of reduction of tumor volume in B16F10-xenografted tumor-bearing mice compared to free CUR. At the end of 22 days, the tumor reduced to 1.87-fold (627.72 ± 0.9 mm3versus 1174.68 ± 1.64 mm3) compared to the treatment with free CUR. In conclusion, the experimental data in vitro and in vivo indicated that the newly developed CUR-mPEG-PLA-Ch micelles may have promising applications in solid tumors.
a Department of Pharmacy , Birla Institute of Technology and Science , Pilani , Hyderabad , India.
Preeti
P
Kumari
a Department of Pharmacy , Birla Institute of Technology and Science , Pilani , Hyderabad , India.
Omkara Swami
OS
Muddineti
a Department of Pharmacy , Birla Institute of Technology and Science , Pilani , Hyderabad , India.
Sri Vishnu Kiran
SV
Rompicharla
a Department of Pharmacy , Birla Institute of Technology and Science , Pilani , Hyderabad , India.
Pratyusha
P
Ghanta
a Department of Pharmacy , Birla Institute of Technology and Science , Pilani , Hyderabad , India.
Adithya Karthik
AK
B B N
a Department of Pharmacy , Birla Institute of Technology and Science , Pilani , Hyderabad , India.
Balaram
B
Ghosh
a Department of Pharmacy , Birla Institute of Technology and Science , Pilani , Hyderabad , India.
Swati
S
Biswas
D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000737:chemistry*; D003474:Curcumin / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry*; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry*; D005260:Female; D008546:Melanoma, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008823:Micelles; D010316:Particle Size; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry*; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D004337:Drug Carriers; D008823:Micelles; D011091:Polyesters; D011108:Polymers; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; C033616:poly(lactide); D002784:Cholesterol; D003474:Curcumin
Polymeric micelles; cancer; cholesterol; curcumin; mPEG–PLA-Ch