Development, Characterization, and In Vitro Evaluation of Cytotoxic Activity of Rutin Loaded PCL-PEG Nanoparticles Against Skov3 Ovarian Cancer Cell
Rutin (RUT) is one of the phenolic compounds found in the invasive plant species, Carpobrotus edulis. Several studies have confirmed numerous pharmacological properties of RUT, including antioxidant, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and anticancer activities. As a result, the goal of this work was to make RUT-loaded PCL-PEG and test its anti-cancer effects against the Skov3 human ovarian cancer cell line. The NPs were made using the W1/O/W2 process, and their physicochemical properties were assessed by FE-SEM, FTIR, and DLS. MTT assay were used to investigate the anti-proliferative characteristics of drug-loaded NPs. Real-time PCR was also utilized to examine the expression levels of apoptotic genes including caspase-8, -9, -3, and Bax, as well as anti-apoptotic genes like Bcl-2. Cytotoxicity testing revealed that RUT-loaded PCL-PEG improved cytotoxicity in a dose- and time-dependent manner. In treated MDA-MB-231 cells with RUT-loaded PCL-PEG, there was a significant up-regulation of caspase-8, -9, -3, and Bax genes compared to treated cells with free RUT. Finally, RUT-loaded PCL-PEG NPs are recommended as ideal delivery nanocarriers for enhancing RUT's anticancer characteristics for ovarian cancer treatment.
