Folic Acid-conjugated Doxorubicin-loaded Photosensitizing Manganese Ferrite Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Characterization and Anticancer Activity against Human Cervical Carcinoma Cell Line (hela)

Objective: On account of several complications and adverse effects associated with the use of conventional chemotherapeutic regimen, the advanced drug-targeted therapies have gained the remarkable attention of the researchers due to their fabulous pharmaceutical and therapeutic advantages. The present study was designed with the aim to synthesize manganese ferrite nanoparticles (MnFe2O4 NPs) and folic acid-conjugated doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded manganese ferrite bovine serum albumin NPs (FA-BSA-DOX-MnFe2O4 NPs) using desolvation cross-linking method. Methods: Having assessed their physicochemical characteristics, the prepared NPs were evaluated for hem compatibility, photo-mediated cytotoxicity, and anti-cancer potential against human cervical carcinoma cell line (HeLa) using a range of in vitro assays which include hemolysis assay, sulforhodamine B (SRB) and MTT assays. Results: Spectroscopic characterization revealed that MnFe2O4 NPs were spherical with an average size diameter of approx. 15 nm and a band gap of 1.4 eV. Another remarkable feature of FA-BSA-DOX conjugated MnFe2O4 NPs was high entrapment efficiency (approx. 95%). MTT assay demonstrated that MnFe2O4 NPs revealed potential photosensitizing ability upon exposure to sunlight. FA-BSA-DOX conjugated MnFe2O4 NPs showed promising cytotoxicity against human cervical epithelial malignant carcinoma cell line (HeLa). Interestingly, the cytotoxicity of these NPs was gradually increased with time of exposure to sunlight. Conclusion: These findings suggested that FA-BSA-DOX conjugated MnFe2O4 NPs exhibit promising photosensitizing and anticancer potential against human cervical carcinoma and thus can be considered as an alternative targeted therapy against human cervical cancer.