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Tumor Discovery

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Dual-targeting and specific delivery of

tamoxifen to cancer cells by modified magnetic
nanoparticles using hyaluronic acid and folic acid

Mostafa Heidari Majd*

Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zabol University of Medical Sciences,
Zabol, Iran

Abstract

Tamoxifen (TMX) which serves as the best clinical option for the treatment of breast
cancer may trigger major dose-dependent side effects due to its poor solubility.
Therefore, the use of lower TMX doses utilizing nano-enabled drug delivery systems
offers multiple benefits to improving drug specified concentration, safety, and
long-term release. In this study, we synthesized targeted magnetic nanoparticles
(MNPs) containing folic acid (FA) and hyaluronic acid (HA) to improve drug delivery
of TMX. After investigations utilizing Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and
field emission scanning electron microscope, we found that the surface of MNPs
was well modified with targeting agents, and the size of the Fe O -DPN-HA-FA NPs
4
3
was determined at ∼153 (±3.3) nm. Furthermore, the release of 81% TMX after 120 h
indicated that there was a controlled pattern of drug release from the modified MNPs.
Besides that, the MTT assay revealed that the viability of MDA-MB-231 cell lines after
48 h and 72 h of treatment is dependent on the time and concentration of Fe O -
4
3
DPN-HA-FA-TMX NPs. Finally, real-time polymerase chain reaction demonstrated
*Corresponding author: that Fe O -DPN-HA-FA-TMX NPs could upregulate the expression of Bak1 genes
Mostafa Heidari Majd 3 4
(mostafamajd@live.com) and downregulated the expression of Bclx genes during 24 h treatment. All data
confirmed that the presence of HA and FA on the surface of nanocarriers and the
Citation: Majd MH, 2022, Dual-
targeting and specific delivery active targeting employing the nanocarriers can be a useful step to obliterate the
of tamoxifen to cancer cells by breast cancer cells.
modified magnetic nanoparticles
using hyaluronic acid and folic acid.
Tumor Discov, 1(1): 41. Keywords: Fe O ; Mitochondria; Real-time polymerase chain reaction; Apoptosis; Bcl-2
https://doi.org/10.36922/td.v1i1.41 3 4
family proteins
Received: March 4, 2022
Accepted: April 15, 2022
Published Online: April 28, 2022
Copyright: © 2022 Author(s). 1. Introduction
This is an Open Access article
distributed under the terms of the Tamoxifen (TMX) is a nonsteroidal anti-cancer drug originated from the family of
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution, triphenylethylene, which is used to treat a wide variety of cancers such as breast cancer,
and reproduction in any medium, as well as infertility, gynecomastia, and premature puberty [1-3] . However, TMX therapy
provided the original work is
[3]
properly cited. may kill the normal cells, thereby leading to physical injuries and severe side effects .
The side effects of TMX therapy include decreased white blood cell count, venous arterial
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
[4]
Publishing remains neutral with fistulas, and increased risk for uterine and endometrial cancers . The potent side effects
regard to jurisdictional claims in of this drug and other anticancer drugs encouraged the innovation in drug development
published maps and institutional
[5]
affiliations. and the design of new drug delivery systems (NDDSs) .
Volume 1 Issue 1 (2022) 1 https://doi.org/10.36922/td.v1i1.41