Synthesis And Characterization Of Doxorubicin Loaded Silica – Containing Redox Nanoparticles In Liver Cancer Treatment

Abstract

For a long time, Doxorubicin (DOX) is considered the first – line medication for different types of tumor cancer such as bladder, breast, stomach, lungs, etc… However, their drawbacks are numerous, of which the two most disturbing are cardiotoxicity and low efficacy. Therefore, they must be administrated several times to reach and sustain the therapeutic range, leading to drug resistance and more serious consequences. Thus, nanotechnology is applied. Not only does it help improve the overall performance of the drug but also decreases the harmful influences. Notable clinical nanoparticles featuring Doxorubicin are Doxil (PEGylated NPs) or Myocet (unPEGylated NPs). But the common problem of conventional nanoparticles is the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Previously, redox nanoparticles (RNP) were figured as the new solution for the problem. Briefly, they perform an outstanding ROS scavenging ability and are beneficial for the passive targeting mechanism toward the cancer cells. But the most remarkable feature is the pH – responsive of the nanoparticles, that helps minimize drug leakage. As a result, DOX@RNP with additional Doxorubicin was introduced as a suitable solution for cancer treatment. They displayed both anti – inflammatory and anti – cancer activities. Nonetheless, their cons are lack of stability and short blood circulation due to the low hydrophobicity in the core. As a result, capsulizing silica nanoparticles into the core to conduct DOX@siRNP can improve the stability and drug loading capacity of the NPs. Moreover, problems of silica nanoparticles include inducing oxidative stress and inflammatory response are suppressed after being trapped inside the core. In this thesis report, data shows that nanosilica does increase the encapsulated capacity, as long as the adding amount is suitable. Besides, there are improvements in stability and drug release. Furthermore, the size of DOX@siRNP, despite a little increase due to the bigger core, is still good for the passive targeting mechanism. Last but not least, they show great anticancer performance for the cancer cells (MCF–7 and HepG2 cell lines) while good biocompatible for the normal cell line (L929 cell line). This research overall proves that DOX@siRNP is a prominent NPs and siRNP can be a good drug delivery system, but more tests need to be conducted for further evaluation such as characterization tests, TEM or SEM imgae together with the liver cancer in vivo mice model.