Anti-tumor effect of liposomes containing extracted Murrayafoline A against liver cancer cells in 2D and 3D cultured models

Abstract

Abstract Murrayafoline A (MuA) is a natural compound with diverse biological activities, including cytotoxicity against cancer cells, but suffers from poor water solubility and low specificity. In order to improve the potential of MuA as a candidate for cancer treatment, MuA-loaded liposomes were prepared with the liposomal membrane consisting of dioleoylphosphatidylcholine and cholesterol. Dynamic light scattering measurements showed that the MuA-loaded liposomes had a z-average particle size of 104.3 ± 6.4 nm (mean ± SD; n = 3) and a polydispersity index of 0.15 ± 0.02 (mean ± SD; n = 3). The encapsulation efficiency was 55.3 ± 2.3% (mean ± SD; n = 3). The in vitro cytotoxicity of encapsulated MuA was attenuated at IC50 = 21.97 µg/mL compared to 6.24 µg/mL for free MuA, against HepG2. In contrast, MuA-loaded liposomes were significantly more effective at inhibiting cell growth in HepG2 cancer spheroids, which indicated that they were able to reach the interior layers of the microtumor. Taken together, these results showed that the encapsulation of MuA in liposomes is a good research direction to improve this natural compound’s potential as a candidate for cancer treatment.