M. W. Shafaa*, N. S. Elkholy

Physics Department, Medical Biophysics Division, Faculty of Science,
Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt;
*e-mail: medhatwi@hotmail.com

Received: 1 June 2020; Accepted: 17 May 2021

The study of the effectiveness of the synthetic and natural anticarcinogenic compounds in liposomal form is urgent for their possible use in therapy. In this work, the alkylating agent carboplatin and the representative of carotenoids β-cryptoxanthin were used. The aim of the research was to study the toxicity of these compounds in free and liposomal forms against breast cancer MCF-7 cell line. According to DSC and FTIR data, when carboplatin or β-cryptoxanthin were added to liposomal bilayers, a single peak was observed indicating their mutual mixing. Integration of  β-cryptoxanthin into bilayer was found to be more proper for the creation of PE acyl chains ordered and cooperative state. It was found that MCF-7 cells sensitivity was much higher to the free β-cryptoxanthin than to the free carboplatin with IC₅₀ 42 and 235 μg/ml, respectively. The IC₅₀ values for β-cryptoxanthin loaded into liposomes and for free carboplatin were similar. At the same time, no cytotoxic effect of carboplatin-loaded liposomes was observed. The data obtained allow proposing a possible antitumor treatment regimen where carboplatin is replaced by free β-cryptoxanthin or its liposomal form to increase the effectiveness of breast cancer therapy.