Albumin Nanoparticle Enhances Oxaliplatin Concentration in the Colorectal Region to Treat Colon Cancer with Increased Efficacy

Site-specific delivery of anticancer drugs into tumor cells increase therapeutic efficacy while decreasing unwanted side effects. Oxaliplatin (Oxa) is a third-generation platinum derivative used to treat advanced colorectal cancer (CRC). Oxaliplatin-loaded bovine serum albumin nanoparticles (Nps-Bsa-Oxa) were formulated by a desolvation method. The Nps-Bsa-Oxa were characterized for their size, zeta potential (ZP), surface morphology and charge, in vitro Oxa release, release kinetics, in vitro cytotoxicity, and in vivo studies. The drug loading ranged from 8.39 ± 2.4%w/w to 13.86 ± 2.6w/w. The size and surface charge of the Nps-Bsa-Oxa was found to be 163.2 ± 6.3 nm and − 27 mV, respectively. The Oxa release was studied by dialysis, revealing a biphasic release pattern, and it varied from 48.84 ± 2.97 to 62.12 ± 2.74 for 24 h. In vitro cytotoxicity study was carried out by MTT assay using HT29 cell lines, and the Nps-Bsa-Oxa showed higher cytotoxicity when compared with free drug Oxa. The concentration of Oxa needed to inhibit the growth of 50% cells (IC₅₀) was comparatively less in the case of Nps (17.5 µg/ml) than free Oxa (24 µg/ml). In vivo studies on Wistar rats revealed that Nps-Bsa-Oxa delivered more Oxa to the colonic region compared to the free form of the drug Oxa.