This study aimed to synthesize and characterize nanoparticles (NPs) of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and evaluate their ability to incorporate plant extracts with antitumor activity and low dissolution in aqueous media. The extract used was n-hexane partition of the methanol extract of Piper cabralanum (PCA-HEX). PMMA NPs were obtained using the mini-emulsion method, which was able to encapsulate almost 100% of PCA-HEX. The synthesized polymeric particles presented with a size of 200 nm and a negative charge. Cytotoxicity tests by MTT and trypan blue assays showed that NPs without PCA-HEX did not kill leukemic cells (K562 cells). NPs containing PCA-HEX were able to enhance cell death when compared to pure extract. The results showed that PMMA NPs could be useful as a drug delivery system as they can enhance the antitumor activity of the PCA-HEX extract by more than 20-fold. PMMA NPs containing plant extracts with antitumor activities may be an alternative to control the evolution of diseases such as leukemia.
Keywords: K562 cells; PMMA; Piper; Piperaceae; leukemia; miniemulsion; nanoparticles.