Planta Med 2019; 85(02): 169-178
DOI: 10.1055/a-0721-1886
Formulation and Delivery Systems of Natural Products
Original Papers
Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Galbanic Acid-Coated Fe3O4 Magnetic Nanoparticles with Enhanced Cytotoxicity to Prostate Cancer Cells

Authors

  • Leila Mohtashami

    1   Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
  • Narjes Ghows

    2   Sonochemical Research Center, Department of Chemistry, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
  • Zahra Tayarani-Najaran

    3   Department of Pharmacodynamics and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
  • Mehrdad Iranshahi

    4   Biotechnology Research Center, Pharmaceutical Technology Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
Further Information

Publication History

received 18 April 2018
revised 14 August 2018

accepted 21 August 2018

Publication Date:
04 September 2018 (online)

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Abstract

Galbanic acid is a natural sesquiterpene coumarin compound with different biological activities, particularly cytotoxicity against LNCaP (an androgen-dependent prostate cancer cell line). Galbanic acid induces apoptosis in LNCaP via down-regulation of androgen receptor. However, the poor water-solubility of galbanic acid limits further in vitro and in vivo studies. In this study we present the synthesis of galbanic acid-coated Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles and their cytotoxicity evaluation on three prostate cancer cell lines, including PC3 (an androgen-independent cell line), LNCaP, and DU145 (an androgen-independent cell line). The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scattering electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and vibrating sample magnetometry. Our cytotoxicity evaluation demonstrated that galbanic acid was cytotoxic only against LNCaP cells, while the galbanic acid-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles showed cytotoxicity on all tested cells, including androgen-dependent and -independent cell lines. This indicates that other mechanisms are involved in the cytotoxicity of galbanic acid in addition to androgen receptor down-regulation. In conclusion, the loading of galbanic acid on the surface of Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles turned out to be a successful approach to enhance the solubility and cytotoxicity of this compound.

Supporting Information