Augmented Anticancer Efficacy of Doxorubicin-Loaded Polymeric Nanoparticles after Oral Administration in a Breast Cancer Induced Animal Model

The present investigation reports an extensive evaluation of in vitro and in vivo anticancer efficacy of orally administered doxorubicin-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (Dox-NPs) in a breast cancer induced animal model. Spherically shaped Dox-NPs were prepared with an entrapment efficiency and particle size of 55.40 +/- 2.30% and 160.20 +/- 0.99 nm, respectively, and freeze-dried with 5% trehalose using stepwise freeze-drying. Cytotoxicity, as investigated on C127I cell line, revealed insignificant differences between the IC50 of free Dox and Dox-NPs treated cells in the first 24 h, while higher cytotoxicity was demonstrated by Dox-NPs, following 72 h of incubation. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) imaging corroborated that nanoparticles were efficiently localized into the nuclear region of C127I cells. The cellular uptake profile of Dox-NPs revealed both time and concentration dependent increases in the Caco-2 cell uptake as compared to the free Dox solution. Further, Dox-NPs significantly suppressed the growth of breast tumor in female Sprague Dawley (SD) rats upon oral administration. Finally, orally administered Dox-NPs showed a marked reduction in cardiotoxicity when compared with intravenously injected free Dox as also evident by the increased level of malondialdehyde (MDA), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and creatine phosphokinase (CK-MB) and reduced levels of glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). The reduced cardiotoxicity of orally administered Dox-NPs was also confirmed by the major histopathological changes in the heart tissue after the treatments of intravenously injected free Dox and orally delivered Dox-NPs.