Objective: The development of self nano emulsifying co-delivery system of doxorubicin and Nigella sativa oil for potentiating the anticancer effects against HepG2 cell lines.
Materials and methods: SNEDDS were formulated by using Labrafil and N. sativa oil (3:2% w/w), Kolliphor RH40 (15% w/w), glycerol (5% w/w) as oil phase, surfactant and co-surfactant while deionized water (75% v/v) used as an aqueous phase. Optimized SNEDDS was evaluated for drug release and in vitro anticancer efficacy in liver cancer (HepG2) cell line.
Results and discussion: The selected formulation (F6) has a mean particle size of 79.7 nm with PDI 0.098 and the minimum viscosity of 16.42 cps with % transmittance of 1.332 with maximum drug release of 96.968% in 32 h as compared to DOX alone. Stability data showed stable emulsion in both 250C and -40C. F6 showed improved efficacy in HepG2 cells by cytotoxicity, showed significant results p<.05 with 2.5 μg/ml of (inhibitory concentration) IC50.
Conclusion: The overall study displayed that co-delivery of DOX and Nigella sativa oil in the form of SNEDDS may be an efficient carrier for further in vivo studies using oral delivery in human hepatocellular carcinoma in mammals.
Keywords: Doxorubicin; ROS; cell viability; nuclear fragmentation.