Issue 22, 2019

Cholesterol-coated gold nanorods as an efficient nano-carrier for chemotherapeutic delivery and potential treatment of breast cancer: in vitro studies using the MCF-7 cell line

Abstract

Gold nanorods (GNRs) have a recognized role in treatment of cancers as efficient nanocarriers for chemotherapeutic drug delivery. In this study, GNRs modified with cholesterol-PEG were employed as a nanocarrier for a hydrophobic compound having a promising phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3Kα) inhibitory activity. The acquired nanocomplex was characterized by optical and infra-red (IR) absorption spectroscopies, in addition to hydrodynamic size and zeta potential. Glide docking and superposing of docked poses of the hydrophobic ligand and cholesterol moiety demonstrated that hydrophobic interactions drive the conjugation and attachment of the ligand to the cholesterol moiety of the nanocarrier. In vitro release study under a cellular environment indicates that the presence of cells has enhanced the release and the cellular uptake of the conjugated ligand. Furthermore, the anti-proliferative assay of the nanocomplex revealed potent cytotoxicity over a low concentration range of the nanocomplex against MCF-7 breast cancer cells compared to the free compound or the nanocarrier alone. Analysis of cellular death modality by flow cytometry showed that the nanocomplex has a rapid effect on cell death, as cells went toward the late apoptotic/necrotic stage rapidly and proportionally to the increase of the nanocomplex concentration. The overall results propose that cholesterol-decorated GNRs could be considered as a promising nanocarrier for hydrophobic drugs to achieve efficient delivery and potential therapy against breast cancer cells.

Graphical abstract: Cholesterol-coated gold nanorods as an efficient nano-carrier for chemotherapeutic delivery and potential treatment of breast cancer: in vitro studies using the MCF-7 cell line

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
08 feb. 2019
Accepted
10 apr. 2019
First published
24 apr. 2019
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

RSC Adv., 2019,9, 12718-12731

Cholesterol-coated gold nanorods as an efficient nano-carrier for chemotherapeutic delivery and potential treatment of breast cancer: in vitro studies using the MCF-7 cell line

Nouf N. Mahmoud, D. A. Sabbah, R. Abu-Dahab, D. Abuarqoub, M. Abdallah, A. (Hasan Ibrahim) and E. A. Khalil, RSC Adv., 2019, 9, 12718 DOI: 10.1039/C9RA01041F

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