Self-assembled amphiphilic-dextran nanomicelles for delivery of rapamycin

Nanotechnology based drug delivery systems have been explored extensively in cancer therapy over the past decades. Among the vast number of different materials used in nanocarrier systems, natural biopolymers are most frequently used in the encapsulation of chemotherapeutic drugs. However, the low solubility of these agents within biological fluid has decreased their efficacy for inhibiting the growth of cancer cells. Herein, we have developed a new biodegradable and biocompatible drug delivery system based on Dextran. Specifically, we have prepared lipid-conjugated dextran through esterification process using stearic acid (SA) and cholesterol (Chol). In vitro toxicity studies of unloaded and rapamycin loaded nanocarriers with U87 MG cell line showed that unloaded nanocarriers were non-toxic, and the IC50 value of encapsulated rapamycin for different formulations was lower than that for free rapamycin after 24 and 48 h incubation. Also, flow cytometry analysis fully supported the time dependent uptake of the nanocarriers by the cells. These results show that the synthesized polymers can potentially be used as a self-assembled carrier for loading of hydrophobic chemotherapeutics with enhanced toxicity against tumoral cancer cells.