Loading of artesunate with MIL100(Fe) nanoparticles and evaluation of anti-cancer activity in a human breast cancer cell line

Artesunate (ART), an anti-malarial drug, is nowadays used for the treatment of several types of cancers. It is sparingly soluble in water; therefore, it requires the development of a modified formulation of this drug to enhance its water solubility and stability. MIL100(Fe) nanoparticles, a metal-organic framework, were selected as the drug carrier. Purpose: This study aimed to employ MIL-100 (Fe) as a carrier for ART to investigate the release profile of ART and evaluate in vitro its anti-cancer activity. Methods: ART loading was achieved by mixing ART with MIL100(Fe) in the proportion of (1:1) and (1:2) to form ART-1MIL100(Fe) and ART-2MIL100(Fe), respectively. Only ART-2MIL100(Fe) was coated with 0.5% chitosan (CH) to form CH-ART-2MIL100(Fe). Free ART, ART-2MIL100(Fe), and CH-ART-2MIL100(Fe) were evaluated for anti-cancer activity in a human breast cancer cell line. Results: The ART loading capacity was 65% ± 1.3 and 75% ± 2.2 for ART-MIL100(Fe) and ART-2MIL100(Fe), respectively. The release profiles showed 50% ± 2.3 and 63% ± 1.5 of cumulative ART percent release for ART-2MIL100(Fe) and CH-ART-2MIL100(Fe), respectively. Although free ART demonstrated inhibition of cell viability (81%), ART-2MIL100(Fe) and CH-ART-2MIL100(Fe) showed cell inhibition viability of 56 and 51%, respectively. Conclusion: ART loading within MIL100(Fe) was effective and in vitro breast anti-cancer effect was significant.