Affiliations 

  • 1 Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Bandar Sunway, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
J Nanosci Nanotechnol, 2019 11 01;19(11):6881-6892.
PMID: 32098646 DOI: 10.1166/jnn.2019.16718

Abstract

Inorganic nanoparticles are commonly employed as vectors for delivering drugs into cancer cells while decreasing undesired cytotoxicity in healthy tissues. Carbonate apatite is an attractive nonviral vector that releases drugs at acidic environment inside the cells following endocytosis. However, maintaining the smaller particle size is crucial for enhancing cellular uptake of drugs as well as prolonging their systemic circulation time. We aimed to modify carbonate apatite with citrate for reducing the growth kinetics of carbonate apatite particles and enhancing the cellular uptake of cyclophosphamide via endocytosis. Several concentrations of sodium citrate were used to fabricate citrate-modified carbonate apatite (CMCA) particle complexes in absence or presence of cyclophosphamide. The binding affinity of the drug towards the particles and its cellular uptake were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The nanoparticles' average size and zeta potential were determined by Malvern Zetasizer. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was performed to justify association of citrate with carbonate apatite. MTT assay was performed to evaluate the cell viability. CMCA exhibited 6% more binding efficiency for cyclophosphamide and promoted fast cellular uptake of cyclophosphamide with enhanced cytotoxicity in MCF-7 cells, compared to unmodified carbonate apatite. Therefore, CMCA nanoparticles have a high potential for intracellular delivery of anti-cancer drugs and demand for further investigated in animal models of cancer.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.