ایوب امیری زاده

Caffeine, a natural substance found in coffee and tea, can have anticancer effects by reducing cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis. On the other hand, nanocarriers can be used as a suitable method for properly delivering drugs at the tumor site, protecting drugs, targeting specific organs, and high durability. This study aimed to produce caffeine nanoemulsions and evaluate its anticancer effects on leukemia cells.

In this experimental study after producing caffeine nanoemulsion and evaluating its physicochemical properties, K562 cancer cells were treated with different concentrations of these caffeine nanoemulsions and free caffeine, and then, the viability of cancer cells was determined using Neutral Red and Trypan Blue methods. The AO/PI test was also used to evaluate the rate of apoptosis and necrosis. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and Tukey's test using SPSS v.16 software.

The results showed that the decrease in the viability of cells treated with different concentrations of caffeine nanoemulsion and free caffeine was both concentration- and time-dependent, and caffeine nanoemulsion has more cytotoxic effects on cancer cells than free caffeine. The results also showed that caffeine nanoemulsion caused more apoptosis-type cell death in treated cancer cells.

The present study indicated a decrease in the viability and induction of apoptosis in K562 cells as a chronic myeloid leukemia cancer cell line after exposure to caffeine nanoemulsion, and caffeine nanoemulsion can be suggested as an adjuvant therapy along with other treatments for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia cancer.