PEG/PLA diblock-copolymer nanocomposites: the antineoplastic drug delivery vehicles against human ovarian cancer in vitro

In this study, PEG/PLA nanocomposites were synthesized by chemical precipitation and used as cisplatin (CP) and herbal extract carriers for their controlled release against human ovarian cancer cells. Extraction of watermelon seeds (WS) and Persian olives (PO) was done by the Soxhlet method and the presence of extract s phytochemicals was studied using the colorimetric method. CP, WS, and PO loading onto PEG/PLA nanocomposites was done by oil-in-water emulsion method. The obtained copolymers were evaluated by FTIR, UV-Vis absorption by Nanodrop, electron microscopy. The drug loading efficiency and the drug release profiles (dialysis) were measured in vitro by aNanodrop at 215-800 nm, which showed a long-term release mechanism. CP release profile by dialysis showed 97.37% after 72h, long-term release-mechanism and stability.MTT analysis results have shown that the prepared nanocomposite system showed a significant effect on apoptotic induction in OVCAR-3 cells. The highest % cell death rate after administration of WS and PO loaded PEG/PLA (~99.5%, p<0.001) and the combination of CPWS- PEG/PLA and PO-CP-PEG/PLA (~97.5%, p<0.001). Our colorimetric results have shown that our WS and PO extracts contained phenols, flavonoids, triterpenoids, and vitamins C, etc., which caused a considerable amount of cytotoxicity in cancer cells. The CP release from PEG/PLA showed a dose- and concentration-dependent manner.

Keywords:

Nanocomposite , Pharmaceutical carriers , PEG/PLA , Cisplatin , Herbal extracts , Ovarian cancer