ABSTRACT
Gene therapy is a novel approach for cancer treatment and investigation for suitable gene delivery systems is remarkable. Here, preparation of a polyelectrolyte complex containing polysaccharides: trimethyl chitosan (TMC) as the positive and hyaluronate (HA), dextran sulfate and alginate as the negative part was studied. The optimized nanoparticles (TMC: between 0.2 and 0.47 mg/ml, HA: 0.35 mg/ml (≈131 nm, nearly full gene loading)) were obtained via primary screening followed by the D-optimal method. In vitro cellular study on the MCF7 cell line confirmed the non-toxicity and high cellular uptake (>90%) of prepared nanoparticles. Notably, in vivo study indicated noticeable tumor uptake of nanoparticles while low accumulation in vital organs such as heart, liver and lungs. Moreover, although a qualitative variable was considered, the applied method restricted the number of runs by selecting spots from the spherical atmosphere. The prepared nanoparticles could be suggested as an efficient and safe delivery system for cancer gene delivery.
Subject(s)
Chitosan , Nanoparticles , Drug Carriers , Gene Transfer Techniques , Genetic Therapy , PolyelectrolytesABSTRACT
We report the synthesis and optical properties of organic porphyrin nanoparticles with narrow size distribution and good dispersibility. Nanoparticles were produced by a combination of precipitation and sonication, termed the "ultrasonic method". The resulting [tetrakis(para-chlorophenyl)porphyrin]TClPP nanoparticles were stable in solution without precipitation for at least 30 days. No self aggregation of the constituent porphyrin chromophores was observed. The TClPP nanoparticles exhibited interesting optical properties, particularly a large bathochromic shift in the absorption spectra.
