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Novel formulation of parthenolide-loaded liposome coated with chitosan and evaluation of its potential anticancer effects in vitro

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Abstract

Background

In this study the formulation of parthenolide (PN), an anticancer agent extracted from a natural product, into a liposome (PN-liposome), was examined. The surface of the PN-liposome was modified using chitosan (PN-chitosome). By using real-time quantitative PCR and flow cytometry, we examined the release of PN-chitosomes, cytotoxicity, and ability to induce apoptosis in vitro.

Methods and results

According to the present study, PN-chitosomes had a size of 251 nm which is acceptable for efficient enhanced permeation and retention (EPR) performance. PN-chitosomes were confirmed to be spherical in shape and size through FESEM analysis. In terms of encapsulation efficiency, 94.5% was achieved. PN-chitosome possessed a zeta potential of 34.72 mV, which was suitable for its stability. According to the FTIR spectra of PN and PN-chitosome, PN was chemically stable due to the intermolecular interaction between the liposome and the drug. After 48 h, only 10% of the PN was released from the PN-chitosome in PBS (pH 7.4), and less than 20% was released after 144 h.

Conclusion

In a dose-dependent manner, PN-chitosome exhibited anticancer properties that were more cytotoxic against cancer cells than normal cells. Moreover, the formulation activated both the apoptosis pathway and cytotoxic genes in real-time qPCR experiments. According to the cytotoxicity and activating apoptosis of the prepared modified particle, PN-chitosome may be helpful in the treatment of cancer.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by, Islamic Azad University, Shahrood, Iran, and thus is appreciated by the authors.

Funding

This research was performed at personal expense in the laboratory of Islamic Azad University of Shahrood.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Shahrood Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrood, Iran

    Parisa Karimian Ensaf & Samira Sadat Hosseinyzadeh

  2. Department of Biochemistry, Shahrood Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrood, Iran

    Mohammad Taghi Goodarzi

  3. Department of Biology, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran

    Masoud Homayouni Tabrizi & Ali Neamati

Authors
  1. Parisa Karimian Ensaf
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  2. Mohammad Taghi Goodarzi
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  3. Masoud Homayouni Tabrizi
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  4. Ali Neamati
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  5. Samira Sadat Hosseinyzadeh
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Contributions

Parisa Karimian Ensaf: methodology, investigation and writing-original draft. Mohammad Taghi Goodarzi and Masoud Homayouni Tabrizi: supervision, data curation, conceptualization and writing-reviewing and editing. Ali Neamati: formal analysis, revising , software. Samira Sadat Hosseinyzadeh: validation, investigation.

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Correspondence to Mohammad Taghi Goodarzi.

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Ensaf, P.K., Goodarzi, M.T., Tabrizi, M.H. et al. Novel formulation of parthenolide-loaded liposome coated with chitosan and evaluation of its potential anticancer effects in vitro. Mol Biol Rep 51, 369 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-024-09325-8

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