Disulfiram-loaded functionalized magnetic nanoparticles combined with copper and sodium nitroprusside in breast cancer cells

Abstract

Disulfiram (DSF), one of the members of the dithiocarbamate family, is a reactive species (RS) generator and is capable of inducing cancer cell death in breast cancer. However, it is hydrophobic and highly degradable in blood. Therefore, drug delivery systems would be of great benefit in supporting the selective accumulation of DSF in tumor cells. In this study, it was aimed to prepare a drug carrier system based on magnetic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄@mSiO₂ MNPs) which are non-toxic, biocompatible, and have a mesoporous structure. The Fe₃O₄@mSiO₂ MNPs were modified with folic acid linked polyethyleneimine (PEI-FA) to increase both their solubility in water and specificity for cancer cells. Thus, the cancer-selective DSF-carrier system (mMDPF) was synthesized with a high surface area but with dimensions of less than 160 nm, and were characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis. The drug-loading capacity of mMDPF was measured as 4.35% by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and the best drug release kinetics of mMDPF was observed at 37 °C and pH 6.0 which is the pH in the endosome. The cytotoxicity of the mMDPF on breast cancer (MCF-7) cells was improved by applying mMDPF with copper and/or sodium nitroprusside. It was observed that mMDPF was taken up more by MCF-7 cells and its toxicity on MCF-7 cells was much higher than non-tumorigenic (MCF-10A) cells.

Keywords: Cancer; Copper; Diethyldithiocarbamate; Disulfiram; Fe(3)O(4); Mesoporous silica nanoparticles; Sodium nitroprusside.