SILK FIBROIN-COATED MESOPOROUS SILICA NANOPARTICLES ENHANCE 6-THIOGUANINE DELIVERY AND CYTOTOXICITY IN BREAST CANCER CELLS

MOHAMMAD AMIN KABOLI; ALAA A. HASHIM; DHIYA ALTEMEMY; JAVAD SAFFARI-CHALESHTORI; MEHDI REZAEE; SAYEDEH AZIMEH HOSSEINI; PEGAH KHOSRAVIAN

doi:10.22159/ijap.2025v17i1.52882

Authors

MOHAMMAD AMIN KABOLI Student Research Committee, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran. Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9144-615X
ALAA A. HASHIM Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, Ahl AL-Bayt University, Karbala, Iraq https://orcid.org/0009-0000-9757-7620
DHIYA ALTEMEMY Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, Al-Zahraa University for Women, Karbala, Iraq https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0311-9827
JAVAD SAFFARI-CHALESHTORI Clinical Biochemistry Research Center, Basic Health Sciences Institute, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9739-5907
MEHDI REZAEE Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2866-2327
SAYEDEH AZIMEH HOSSEINI Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran
PEGAH KHOSRAVIAN Medical Plants Research Center, Basic Health Sciences Institute, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4802-8534

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22159/ijap.2025v17i1.52882

Keywords:

6-Thioguanine, Apoptosis, Breast adenocarcinoma, Cell cycle, Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs)

Abstract

Objective: Breast cancer stands as the most prevalent form of cancer among women globally. Conventional chemotherapy, including the use of 6-Thioguanine (TG), often faces limitations such as poor drug solubility. In this research, we engineered a nanosystem consisting of Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles (MSNs) loaded with TG and coated with Silk Fibroin (SF) to enhance the pharmacokinetic properties of this drug in targeting the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line.

Methods: In this study, we investigated the cytotoxicity of different formulations through MTT assay. Additionally, we analyze apoptosis and cell cycle phase distribution using flow cytometry. Furthermore, the absorption of MSN nanoparticles by MCF-7 cells was investigated using the fluorescent labeling technique by Dil fluorochrome.

Results: Our results represented the 48 h Half Maximal Inhibitory Concentration (IC₅₀) values of free TG, MSNs loaded with TG (TG@MSNs) and SF-coated MSNs loaded with TG (SF/TG@MSN) were 16.69, 10.96 and 8.01 μM, respectively. Moreover, the percentage of total early and late apoptosis differed among the treatments. Specifically, cells treated with free TG, TG@MSN and SF/TG@MSN exhibited 13.49%, 76.05% and 84.99% apoptosis, respectively. The results also indicated that administering free TG and TG-loaded MSN nanoparticles to MCF-7 cells resulted in cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase after 48 h of treatment.

Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that the SF/TG@MSN nanosystems effectively increased the cytotoxic effects of TG on the breast cancer cell line.

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