The Efficacy of Small Interfering RNA-Loaded Chitosan-Coated Calcium Phosphate Nanoparticles for the Treatment of Cervical Cancer

In this work, we designed chitosan-coated calcium phosphate nanoparticles (NPs) as a means to deliver siRNA for the treatment of cervical cancer. Highly homogeneous CS/CaP/siRNA NPs were obtained by nano-chemical precipitation, yielding a particle size of 190 +/- 0.52 nm with a zeta potential of 27.0 +/- 0.51 nm. CS/CaP/siRNA NPs effectively delivered siRNAs targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (siEGFR) to HeLa cells. Overall efficacy may be related to chitosan-mediated adhesion and prolonged duration of CS/CaP/siRNA NP uptake in the target cells. When CS/CaP/siRNA NPs enter the cell, they undergo pH-dependent expansion and disintegration, this mechanism promotes siRNA release and rapid translocation from lysosomes to the cytoplasm. Furthermore, administration of CS/CaP/siEGFR NPs inhibited the growth of cervical cancer cells with no evidence of systemic toxicity in a mouse xenograft model. Taken together, these results indicate that NP-mediated CS/CaP/siRNA delivery may be a promising new treatment for cervical cancer.