The effect of chitosan nanoparticles containing paclitaxel on destruction of breast cancer cells

Paclitaxel is a new chemotherapy medicine that is used for treating breast, ovarian, and lung cancers as well as AIDSrelated Kaposi's sarcoma. Due to the side effects of using this drug, the paclitaxel-loaded chitosan nanoparticles was synthesized and its cytotoxicity effects on breast cancer cell lines was examined.
The paclitaxel-loaded chitosan nanoparticles were synthesized by the gelation method, purified and isolated in a proper size by centrifugation. The nanoparticles’ size, percentage of loading and releasing time of the drug up to 24 hours and its cytotoxicity effects, compared with Paclitaxel; on breast cancer cell lines were investigated.
Particle sizes revealed to be 248-312 nm using the zetasizer system, the drug loading percentage showed 55±4 %, and the rate of drug releasing time for 24 h measured 5.5 %. On the average in concentration of 0.8 μg/mL the cytotoxicity of the paclitaxol-loaded chitosan nanoparticles was estimated 43% less than that of the taxol.
The results showed that the paclitaxol-loaded chitosan nanoparticles may be considered as a good alternative to taxol since it decreases the related side effects. However, it deserves further investigations in future.