Polymeric Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for Combination Drug Delivery In vitro

Despite the recent advances and development of conventional cancer therapy strategies, treatments often lack specificity, resulting in low therapeutic efficiency, cancer recurrence, and drug resistance. With the advent of nanotechnology, nanoparticle-based delivery systems have steadily gained interest. The key to using any drug delivery system is its' relative cytotoxicity, pharmacokinetics, and downstream immunological effects that may arise upon repetitive exposure. Among the nanoparticle systems, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have received favorable attention as potential drug delivery platforms. This study aimed to synthesize and functionalized MSNs with chitosan and polyethyleneglycol for improved stability, efficient drug loading, and drug release. These polymerized MSNs were physicochemically and morphologically characterized and assessed for their dual-drug [doxorubicin (DOX)/5-fluoruracil (5-FU)] loading, drug release kinetics, and anticancer activity in vitro. MSNs ranged from 35-70 nm in size, with a high surface area (809.44 m(2)/g) and a large pore volume (1.74 cm(2)/g). The DOX/5-FU co-loading produced a potent dual-drug formulation with good pH-responsive release profiles, high percentage release, especially from PEGylated MSNs, and significant anticancer activity the breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) and cervical cancer (HeLa) cells. This combination therapy's favorable outcomes suggest an improved therapeutic strategy that warrants investigation in an in vivo model.