Publication: Development of chitosan nanocarrier for natural product targeted anticancer drug delivery
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Date
2026-01
Authors
Muralitharan, Lila Vidya Vinothini
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Abstract
Cancer remains a major global health challenge, and conventional treatments such as chemotherapy are often associated with high toxicity and limited target specificity. Natural products, including Clinacanthus nutans, have shown anticancer potential. However, their therapeutic application is restricted by poor solubility and stability. This study aimed to develop a chitosan-based nanocarrier system for the delivery of a standardized anticancer fraction (SF1) isolated from C. nutans leaves. SF1 was extracted, isolated, and purified using chromatographic techniques before being encapsulated into chitosan nanocarriers via the ionic gelation method using sodium tripolyphosphate as a crosslinking agent. Physicochemical characterization of the nanocarriers was carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The in vitro cytotoxicity of chitosan nanocarrier and SF1-loaded chitosan nanocarrier was evaluated using the MTT assay against human cancer cell lines SiHa and MCF-7, with osteoblast cells, hFOB serving as the normal cell line. The results confirmed successful encapsulation of SF1 within chitosan nanocarriers, which exhibited suitable morphological characteristics and evidence of chemical interactions. Cytotoxicity assays demonstrated that both chitosan nanocarrier and SF1-loaded chitosan nanocarrier induced non-selective cytotoxic effects in the tested cancer cell lines and normal cell lines. The IC₅₀ values ranged from 1.53± 0.06 μg/mL to 5.44± 0.02 μg/mL. However, these findings represent preliminary in vitro observations, and further studies are required to clarify selectivity, underlying mechanisms, and the overall therapeutic potential of the developed Cancer remains a major global health challenge, and conventional treatments such as chemotherapy are often associated with high toxicity and limited target specificity. Natural products, including Clinacanthus nutans, have shown anticancer potential. However, their therapeutic application is restricted by poor solubility and stability. This study aimed to develop a chitosan-based nanocarrier system for the delivery of a standardized anticancer fraction (SF1) isolated from C. nutans leaves. SF1 was extracted, isolated, and purified using chromatographic techniques before being encapsulated into chitosan nanocarriers via the ionic gelation method using sodium tripolyphosphate as a crosslinking agent. Physicochemical characterization of the nanocarriers was carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The in vitro cytotoxicity of chitosan nanocarrier and SF1-loaded chitosan nanocarrier was evaluated using the MTT assay against human cancer cell lines SiHa and MCF-7, with osteoblast cells, hFOB serving as the normal cell line. The results confirmed successful encapsulation of SF1 within chitosan nanocarriers, which exhibited suitable morphological characteristics and evidence of chemical interactions. Cytotoxicity assays demonstrated that both chitosan nanocarrier and SF1-loaded chitosan nanocarrier induced non-selective cytotoxic effects in the tested cancer cell lines and normal cell lines. The IC₅₀ values ranged from 1.53± 0.06 μg/mL to 5.44± 0.02 μg/mL. However, these findings represent preliminary in vitro observations, and further studies are required to clarify selectivity, underlying mechanisms, and the overall therapeutic potential of the developed nanocarrier system. Although selectivity was not achieved in this study, these findings provide a foundational platform for the future optimization of targeted nanocarrier systems, guiding the design of strategies to enhance selectivity and therapeutic efficacy.