RESUMEN
Doxorubicin (DOX), a chemotherapy drug, has demonstrated limited efficacy against glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor with resistance attributed to the blood-brain barrier (BBB). This study aims to overcome this challenge by proposing the targeted delivery of magnetic Janus nanoparticles (MJNPs) functionalized with folic acid ligands, fluorescent dye, and doxorubicin (DOX/MJNPs-FLA). The properties of these nanoparticles were comprehensively evaluated using bio-physiochemical techniques such as Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potential analysis, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), fluorescence microscopy, MTT assay, hemolysis assay, and liver enzyme level evaluation. Dual-controlled DOX release was investigated under different pH and temperature conditions. Additionally, the impact of DOX/MJNPs-FLA on apoptosis induction in tumor cells, body weight, and survival time of cancerous animals was assessed. The targeted delivery system was assessed using C6 and OLN-93 cell lines as representatives of cancerous and healthy cell lines, respectively, alongside Wistar rat tumor-bearing models. Results from Prussian blue staining and confocal microscopy tests demonstrated the effective targeted internalization of MJNPs-FLA by glioblastoma cells. Additionally, we investigated the biodistribution of the nanoparticles utilizing fluorescence imaging techniques. This enabled us to track the distribution pattern of MJNPs-FLA in vivo, shedding light on their movement and accumulation within the biological system. Furthermore, the combination of chemotherapy and magnetic hyperthermia exhibited enhanced efficacy in inducing apoptosis, as evidenced by the increase of the pro-apoptotic Bax gene and a decrease in the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 gene. Remarkably, this combination treatment did not cause any hepatotoxicity. This study highlights the potential of DOX/MJNPs-FLA as carriers for therapeutic and diagnostic agents in the context of theranostic applications for the treatment of brain malignancies. Additionally, it demonstrates the promising performance of DOX/MJNPs-FLA in combination treatment through passive and active targeting.
RESUMEN
The goal of this work was to examine the heat-sensitizing effects of Janus-coated magnetic nanoparticles (JMNPs) as a vehicle for 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) and Quercetin (Qu) in C6 and OLN-93 cell lines. The cellular uptake of nanoparticles was evaluated using Prussian blue staining and ICP-OES after monolayer culturing of C6 (rat brain cancer cell) and OLN-93 (normal rat brain cell) cells. The cells were treated with free 5-Fu, Qu, and MJNPs loaded with Qu/5-Fu for 24 h, followed by magnetic hyperthermia under an alternating magnetic field (AMF) at a temperature of 43 °C. Using the MTT test and Flow cytometry, the C6 and OLN-93 cells were investigated after being subjected to hyperthermia with and without magnetic nanoparticles. The results of Prussian blue staining confirmed the potential of MJNPs as carriers that facilitate the uptake of drugs by cancer cells. The results showed that the combined application of Qu/5-Fu/MJNPs with hyperthermia significantly increased the amount of ROS production compared to interventions without MJNPs. The therapeutic results demonstrated that the combination of Qu/5-Fu/MJNPs with hyperthermia considerably enhanced the rate of apoptotic and necrotic cell death compared to that of interventions without MJNPs. Furthermore, MTT findings indicated that controlled exposure of Qu/5-Fu/MJNPs to AMF caused a synergistic effect. The advanced Janus magnetic nanoparticles in this study can be proposed as a promising dual drug carrier (Qu/5-Fu) and thermosensitizer platform for dual-modal synergistic cancer therapy.
