Cytotoxicity of paclitaxel loaded and surf ace coated poly acrylic acid-PEG-chitosan based nanoparticles on er­- breast cancer cells (MDA 231) / Siti Nurabona Mat Nazar

Paclitaxel is an antineoplastic agent that is well-known for its poor aqueous solubility and a substrate for P-gp and CYP450 thus limiting the uptake whereby it mediates direct excretion of the drug in the intestinal lumen. This in tum causes paclitaxel to exhibit many side effects which includes acute hypersensitivity reaction, chest pain, hypotension, rashes, axonal degeneration and demyelination. Research on new formulations to improve the drug delivery system of paclitaxel is important to improve its efficacy and reduce the toxicity. The aim of this study is therefore to investigate the cytotoxicity of paclitaxel when compared to paclitaxel loaded with surface coated polyacrylic acid-PEG-chitosan-based-nanoparticles on ER- breast cancer cells (MDA 231 ). The polyacrylic acid-PEG-chitosan-based­ nanoparticles is a new formulation. The Sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay was employed to determine the cytotoxicity of the newly formulated paclitaxel when compared to free paclitaxel. Polyacrylic acid based polymers are mainly used for oral and mucosal contact applications such as controlled released of tablets, oral suspensions and bioadhesives. The cytotoxicity of paclitaxel and paclitaxel loaded with surface coated polyacrylic acid-PEG-chitosan-based-nanoparticles were 0.03 µg/mL and 16 µg/mL respectively. In conclusion the study showed that the new formulation did not improve the anticancer effect of paclitaxel. The formulation needs further improvement and more studies need to be performed to understand the paclitaxel release.