摘要
Silibinin(SBN)is a natural,plant-derived bioactive flavonolignan,possessing wide range of pharmaceutical activities including anticancer.However,poor aqueous solubility and low oral bioavailability restrict its clinical applications.Protein based nanomedicines have emerged as a potential solution to improve the delivery of hydrophobic anticancer agents like SBN.Further,Biotin functionalization of delivery vehicle can provide the added advantage of increased aqueous solubility,controlled drug release and site-specific delivery at the tumor.In the present work,we have prepared biotin conjugated bovine serum albumin nanoparticles(Biotin@BSA-NPs)for the efficient delivery of SBN to cancer cells.The prepared SBN loaded Biotin@BSA-NPs(Biotin@SBN-BSA-NPs)showed nanoscale size(~157 nm),high monodispersity(PDI 0.102),high encapsulation efficiency(~83%),and controlled pH-dependent drug release.Biotin@SBN-BSA-NPs reveals dose-dependent and time-dependent cytotoxicity against human cervical cancer(HeLa)cells.The cellular uptake study,MTT assay and AO-EtBr staining assay demonstrate that Biotin@SBN-BSA-NPs had significant anticancer potential,induction of apoptosis and higher uptake compared to pure SBN.Thus,prepared Biotin@SBN-BSA-NPs could be a potential targeted drug delivery system for hydrophobic anticancer bioactive compounds like SBN.
