Optimized icariin cubosomes exhibit augmented cytotoxicity against SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells

Clinical application of icariin (ICA) is limited, despite its activity against cancer growth, because of the low solubility of ICA in an aqueous environment. Therefore, the present study attempted to develop and optimize ICA-loaded cubosome delivery and to explore its efficacy and possible mechanism...

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Main Authors: A. Fahmy, Usama, Fahmy, Omar, A. Alhakamy, Nabil
Format: Article
Published: MDPI 2021
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author A. Fahmy, Usama
Fahmy, Omar
A. Alhakamy, Nabil
author_facet A. Fahmy, Usama
Fahmy, Omar
A. Alhakamy, Nabil
author_sort A. Fahmy, Usama
collection UPM
description Clinical application of icariin (ICA) is limited, despite its activity against cancer growth, because of the low solubility of ICA in an aqueous environment. Therefore, the present study attempted to develop and optimize ICA-loaded cubosome delivery and to explore its efficacy and possible mechanism of action against ovarian cancer. The optimization of the cubosome formulation was performed using the Box‒Behnken statistical design; during the characterization, the particle sizes were in the range of 73 to 183 nm and the entrapment efficiency was 78.3% to 97.3%. Optimized ICA-loaded cubosomes (ICA-Cubs) exhibited enhanced cytotoxicity and apoptotic potential, compared with ICA-raw, against ovarian cancer cell lines (SKOV-3 and Caov 3). The optimized ICA-Cubs showed a relatively non-cytotoxic effect on normal EA.hy926 endothelial cells. Further analysis of cell cycle arrest suggested a potential role in the pre-G1 and G2/M phases for ICA-Cubs in comparison with ICA-raw. ICA-Cubs increased the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the overexpression of p53 and caspase-3 in the SKOV-3 cell line. In conclusion, the cubosomal delivery of ICA might provide a prospective approach towards the superior control of ovarian cancer cell growth. Its improved efficacy compared with that of the free drug might be due to the improved solubility and cellular permeability of ICA.
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spelling upm.eprints-944672023-02-07T03:53:03Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/94467/ Optimized icariin cubosomes exhibit augmented cytotoxicity against SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells A. Fahmy, Usama Fahmy, Omar A. Alhakamy, Nabil Clinical application of icariin (ICA) is limited, despite its activity against cancer growth, because of the low solubility of ICA in an aqueous environment. Therefore, the present study attempted to develop and optimize ICA-loaded cubosome delivery and to explore its efficacy and possible mechanism of action against ovarian cancer. The optimization of the cubosome formulation was performed using the Box‒Behnken statistical design; during the characterization, the particle sizes were in the range of 73 to 183 nm and the entrapment efficiency was 78.3% to 97.3%. Optimized ICA-loaded cubosomes (ICA-Cubs) exhibited enhanced cytotoxicity and apoptotic potential, compared with ICA-raw, against ovarian cancer cell lines (SKOV-3 and Caov 3). The optimized ICA-Cubs showed a relatively non-cytotoxic effect on normal EA.hy926 endothelial cells. Further analysis of cell cycle arrest suggested a potential role in the pre-G1 and G2/M phases for ICA-Cubs in comparison with ICA-raw. ICA-Cubs increased the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the overexpression of p53 and caspase-3 in the SKOV-3 cell line. In conclusion, the cubosomal delivery of ICA might provide a prospective approach towards the superior control of ovarian cancer cell growth. Its improved efficacy compared with that of the free drug might be due to the improved solubility and cellular permeability of ICA. MDPI 2021 Article PeerReviewed A. Fahmy, Usama and Fahmy, Omar and A. Alhakamy, Nabil (2021) Optimized icariin cubosomes exhibit augmented cytotoxicity against SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells. Pharmaceutics, 13 (1). art. no. 20. 20 - 25. ISSN 1999-4923 https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/13/1/20 10.3390/pharmaceutics13010020
spellingShingle A. Fahmy, Usama
Fahmy, Omar
A. Alhakamy, Nabil
Optimized icariin cubosomes exhibit augmented cytotoxicity against SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells
title Optimized icariin cubosomes exhibit augmented cytotoxicity against SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells
title_full Optimized icariin cubosomes exhibit augmented cytotoxicity against SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells
title_fullStr Optimized icariin cubosomes exhibit augmented cytotoxicity against SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells
title_full_unstemmed Optimized icariin cubosomes exhibit augmented cytotoxicity against SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells
title_short Optimized icariin cubosomes exhibit augmented cytotoxicity against SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells
title_sort optimized icariin cubosomes exhibit augmented cytotoxicity against skov 3 ovarian cancer cells
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AT fahmyomar optimizedicariincubosomesexhibitaugmentedcytotoxicityagainstskov3ovariancancercells
AT aalhakamynabil optimizedicariincubosomesexhibitaugmentedcytotoxicityagainstskov3ovariancancercells