Development of 3, 3′-diindolylmethane incorporated with chitosan nanoparticles for enhancing the anticancer efficiency against breast cancer through targeting apoptosis signalling axis

Abstract

Abstract Purpose: 3, 3’-diindolymethane (DIM) is a phytochemical that exhibits an extensive variety of pharmacological activities and its properties such as low bioavailability and dissolubility have impeded its clinical improvement. In this manner, there is a keen interest in studying whether the nano formulation of DIM combined with chitosan would be more efficient. Methods: Ionic gelation is a viable method for preparing nanoparticles for delivery to human mammary cancer cell line (MCF-7). The nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized by the methods of UV spectrophotometer, Zeta Sizer, Particle size analyzer, Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Further, we have scrutinized the therapeutic efficacy of DIM-CS-NP in MCF-7 by using MTT, biochemical analysis, acridine orange/ethidium bromide, rhodamine-123, comet assay and western blotting analysis in MCF-7 cells. Results and discussion: The encapsulated DIM spheres with an average diameter of 50-100 nm exhibited high encapsulation efficiency and loading efficacy of 95.80±1.25% and 36.70±2.41% respectively. Furthermore, mammary cancer cells treated with encapsulated DIM inhibit cellular proliferation, promotion of mutation and genetic inability by induced apoptosis through intrinsic apoptotic signaling pathways. Conclusion: Hence, DIM encapsulated chitosan nanoparticles have proved to be a highly effective form of drug targeted delivery in cancer treatment. In conclusion, the result shows that this novel formulation may overcome the current limitations of DIM to provide a new treatment approach for mammary cancer.