Title:Folate-Targeted Polyacrylamide/Punicic Acid Nanomicelles for Flutamide Delivery in Prostate Cancer: Characterization, In Vitro Biological Evaluation, and its DFT Study
VOLUME: 14 ISSUE: 4
Author(s):Razieh Mirsafaei, Jaleh Varshosaz* and Seyed N. Mirsattari
Affiliation:Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy and Novel Drug Delivery Systems Research Centre, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy and Novel Drug Delivery Systems Research Centre, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Department of Chemistry, Shahreza Branch, Islamic Azad University, P.O Box 86145-311, Shahreza, Isfahan
Keywords:Cancer, drug delivery, flutamide, folate, poly (acrylamide)/punicic acid, nanomicelles.
Abstract:
Background: Targeted nanocarriers can be used for reducing the unwanted side effects of
drugs in non-target organs. Punicic acid, the polyunsaturated fatty acid of pomegranate seed oil, has
been shown to possess anti-cancer effects on prostate cancer and the study also covers recent patents
related to prostate cancer. The objective of the current study was to synthesize a co-polymeric micelle
for delivery of Flutamide (FL) in prostate cancer using Polyacrylamide (PAM) and Punicic Acid (PA).
Methods: The co-polymer of PAM and PA was synthesized and conjugated to folic acid. The successful
conjugation was studied computationally by the density functional theory method and was confirmed
by the FT- IR and 1HNMR. The folate-PAMPA micelles produced by the film casting method
were characterized physically. FL was loaded in the nanomicelles and its release test was done at different
pH. The Critical Micelle Concentration (CMC) was measured by pyrene as a fluorescent probe.
Their cellular uptake and cytotoxicity were evaluated on PC3 prostate cancer cells. The molecular geometry
and vibrational frequencies of two different possibilities for conjugation were calculated using
the B3LYP/6-31G basis set.
Results: The CMC of the micelles and their particle size were 79.05 μg/ml and 88 nm, respectively.
The resulting nanocarriers of FL showed significantly more cytotoxic effects than the free drug at
a concentration of 25 μM. The calculated results showed that the optimized geometries could well reproduce
the structural parameters, and the theoretical vibrational frequencies were in good agreement
with the experimental values.
Conclusion: Folate-PAMPA nanomicelles may be promising for the enhancement of FL cytotoxicity
and seem to potentiate the effect of chemotherapeutic agents used in prostate cancer treatment.
