Study of Cytotoxic Effects of Caffeine- Loaded Niosomes on Human Breast Cancer Cells MCF-7

The use of nanoparticles in biomedical research have been increasingly developed in recent years. One of the applications of nanotechnology is the use of compounds such as hydrogels, micelles, nanoliposomes, nanofibers and niosomes as a delivery system to treat cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ant antitumor effect of the caffeine-loaded niosomes on MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line.

The thin film hydrate on method was used to prepare caffeine-loaded niosomes. Certain amounts of surfactant, caffeine and cholesterol were dissolved in ethanol. Rotary evaporation was used to remove solvent from reaction mixture. Sample was dissolved in the phosphate buffer and homogenized with sonicator. The average diameters of caffeine-loaded niosomes were measured using a Zetasizer Nano system.  Finally, the cytotoxicity effect was evaluated by MTT assay.

The treatment of breast cancer cells with different concentrations of nano-sized drug and free drug showed that the nanoparticles had the ability to inhibit the MCF7 proliferation more than free drug. 0.25 mg/ml of niosomal drug had a greater effect on reducing of cancer cells viability.

Vesicular nanoparticles are complex systems with some advantages and disadvantages which sets these delivery systems apart from other colloid system. Vesicular nanoparticle is being developed as new drug delivery system for cancer treatment.