Construction of Polyurethane Polymeric-based Nano-carriers for Curcumin in Cancer Therapy

Objective: In order to improve the water solubility and bioavailability of curcumin in cancer therapy, we prepared and tested a novel waterborne cationic polyurethane (PU) as a nano-carrier for curcumin loading (CU-PU). We studied the effect of this prepared nano-drug on melanoma (F۱۰B۱۶) and fibroblasts cells (L۹۲۹). Methods: Morphology, size and cell internalization ability of the prepared nanoparticles were analyzed by zetasizer, SEM, AFM and fluorescent microscopy, respectively. We anticipated that curcumin was loaded in the hydrophobic core of the PU carrier. Next, the suitable dose and therapeutic effects of CU-PU for both skin cancer and normal cell lines were evaluated by the MTT assay and real-time PCR. Results: The average diameters and polydispersity of the nanoparticles were ۶۲.۳۷ ± ۱.۷ nm and ۰.۰۸۰ ± ۲.۱ at ۲۵ ̊C, respectively. The drug encapsulation efficiency was ۸۷ ± ۰.۲%. The morphological analysis confirmed both a spherical shape and good dispersion without remarkable aggregation. The MTT assay results showed that the IC۵۰ at ۲۴ hours was ۳۶.۲ µM, whereas it was ۲۵.۴ µM at ۴۸ hours. Real-time PCR results indicated that the CU-PU significantly decreased mRNA expressions of VEGF, Bcl-۲, MMP-۹ and COX-۲ genes. An increase in mRNA expression of the BAX gene was also observed. Conclusion: Our result provided acceptable evidence for cell proliferation inhibition and the apoptotic effect of CU-PU on skin cancer cells. There were no adverse effects detected for normal cells.

کلیدواژه ها:

Curcumin ، Nanoparticle ، Cancer ، Polyurethane ، Nanosystem ، نانوذره ، پلییورتان ، کورکومین ، سرطان ، نانوسامانه