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. 2015:2015:263131.
doi: 10.1155/2015/263131. Epub 2015 Jan 6.

Thymoquinone-loaded nanostructured lipid carrier exhibited cytotoxicity towards breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7) and cervical cancer cell lines (HeLa and SiHa)

Wei Keat Ng  1 , Latifah Saiful Yazan  2 , Li Hua Yap  3 , Wan Abd Ghani Wan Nor Hafiza  3 , Chee Wun How  4 , Rasedee Abdullah  5
Affiliations

Thymoquinone-loaded nanostructured lipid carrier exhibited cytotoxicity towards breast cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7) and cervical cancer cell lines (HeLa and SiHa)

Wei Keat Ng et al. Biomed Res Int. 2015.

Abstract

Thymoquinone (TQ) has been shown to exhibit antitumor properties. Thymoquinone-loaded nanostructured lipid carrier (TQ-NLC) was developed to improve the bioavailability and cytotoxicity of TQ. This study was conducted to determine the cytotoxic effects of TQ-NLC on breast cancer (MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7) and cervical cancer cell lines (HeLa and SiHa). TQ-NLC was prepared by applying the hot high pressure homogenization technique. The mean particle size of TQ-NLC was 35.66 ± 0.1235 nm with a narrow polydispersity index (PDI) lower than 0.25. The zeta potential of TQ-NLC was greater than -30 mV. Polysorbate 80 helps to increase the stability of TQ-NLC. Differential scanning calorimetry showed that TQ-NLC has a melting point of 56.73°C, which is lower than that of the bulk material. The encapsulation efficiency of TQ in TQ-NLC was 97.63 ± 0.1798% as determined by HPLC analysis. TQ-NLC exhibited antiproliferative activity towards all the cell lines in a dose-dependent manner which was most cytotoxic towards MDA-MB-231 cells. Cell shrinkage was noted following treatment of MDA-MB-231 cells with TQ-NLC with an increase of apoptotic cell population (P < 0.05). TQ-NLC also induced cell cycle arrest. TQ-NLC was most cytotoxic towards MDA-MB-231 cells. It induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in the cells.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) TQ-NLC and (b) blank NLC 24 hours after synthesis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Transmission electron micrograph of TQ-NLC after 24 hours of recrystallization (magnification 150000x).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Thermogram recorded as a function of temperature from 25 to 70°C.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Morphological changes of MDA-MB-231 cells treated with TQ-NLC observed under an inverted light microscope. Control untreated cells were also included (100x magnification).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Cell cycle analysis of MDA-MB-231 cells treated with TQ-NLC for (a) 24 hours and (b) 48 hours. Data are presented as mean ± SEM of duplicate samples. ∗ indicates significant difference from untreated control group (P < 0.05).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Cell cycle analysis of MDA-MB-231 cells treated with TQ-NLC for 24 hours and 48 hours, performed by flow cytometer. An increase in the cell population at sub-G1 phase was noted after treatment with 1.56 and 3.125 μM of TQ-NLC.
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