Assessment of Chitosan Modified Nanoparticles, as Boron Carriers in BNCT

Background and Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is a promising radiotherapy based on the accumulation of Boron into the tumor and subsequent irradiation with low energy neutrons. It leads to the decay of 10B to 7Li and α particle, causing the death of the neoplastic cells. Here we report some chitosan modified nanoparticles bearing boron phenyl alanine (BPA) as an inexpensive novel promising boron containing structures for practical use in BNCT.
In an experimental study, different BPA-containing nanoparticles of Chitosan (CS) were prepared. Some properties including size and zeta potential were determined by DLS method. The extent of BPA loading was determined using UV-Vis. Spectroscopy and the in-vitro release profiles were analyzed using HPLC method.
Tripolyphosphate (TPP) cross-linked CS-BPA nanoparticles released 51% of the BPA content, TPP cross-linked CS-FA-BPA nanoparticles released 24% of its BPA content and TPP crosslinked CS-SA-FA-BPA nanoparticles released 66% of its BPA content in the same time.
This study introduces two kinds of the Chitosan NPs as BPA carriers. This modified formulations with different release profiles have the opportunity to test in BNCT. Regarding the Chitosan safety and price these systems can be promising candidates in BNCT cancer treatment. In the future studies, the in-vitro neutron capture studies will be carried out to evaluate the boron content efficiency in the prepared formulations.