Formulation, characterization, and cytotoxicity evaluation of doxorubicin loaded niosomes prepared by microfluidic mixing

Abstract

Doxorubicin (DOX) is one of the common anticancer agents used for treating various types of cancer. One limitation of DOX is the development of cancer cell resistance and its wide range of toxicity. Niosomes are type of nanoparticles that consist of non-surfactants and cholesterol in the form of a bilayer structure. The aim of the present study was to develop and optimize DOX-loaded niosomes using microfluidic mixing through buffer exchange strategy to overcome DOX limitations such as unwanted distribution and toxicity. Two niosome formulations (F1 and F2) were prepared using T85 as a non-ionic surfactant. F1 was composed of TW85: CHOL (40:60)/DOX, while F2 was composed of TW85: CHOL: DDAB (40:40:20)/DOX. F1 had an anionic surface charge of around -13 mV, while F2 had a cationic charge of around +20 mV. DOX was successfully entrapped in both formulations with entrapment efficiencies of approximately 11% for F1 and 79% for F2, respectively. Loading DOX into F1 resulted in a significant reduction in the IC50 value in both MCF7 and A549 cells. However, loading DOX into F2 resulted in a higher IC50 in both cell lines compared to the free DOX. In conclusion, the optimized DOX niosomes formulation F1 improved the anticancer activity of DOX compared to free DOX drug. These results demonstrate that optimized niosomes can be effective tools for delivering DOX to target breast and lung cancer cells.