Flame-made metal oxide nanoparticles (MOX-NPs) including ZnO, SnO2, In2O3, and WO3 were embedded into cholesterol micelles to assess their possible medical application in hypercholesterolemia treatment. Material analysis by X-ray spectroscopy and electron microscopy demonstrated the inclusion of stoichiometric hexagonal-ZnO, tetragonal-SnO2, cubic-In2O3, and monoclinic-WO3 nanoparticles with 5–30 nm in diameter within cholesterol micelles. Dynamic light scattering data revealed that the micellar size increased 4.6-fold, 4.5-fold, 3.4-fold, and 1.3-fold after incorporating ZnO-NPs, SnO2-NPs, and In2O3-NPs, respectively. Zeta potential of MOX-NPs shifted negatively upon embedding into the micelle, indicating improved colloidal stability. From In vitro experiments using human colorectal adenocarcinoma (Caco-2) cells, all MOX-NPs significantly reduced cholesterol uptake to levels similar to ezetimibe (EZ). However, the in vivo assessment using [3H]-cholesterol micelles in Wistar rats revealed insignificant alterations in plasma cholesterol levels. Nevertheless, ZnO-NPs remarkably lowered cholesterol accumulated in intestinal and hepatic tissues when SnO2-NPs only decreased hepatic cholesterol deposition. In contrast, In2O3-NPs and WO3-NPs insignificantly affected cholesterol deposition. Overall, ZnO-NPs provided the highest cholesterol-lowering effect, suggesting their potential for hypercholesterolemia treatment. Nonetheless, the in vivo lipid-lowering efficiencies in tissues were relatively low compared with EZ. Thus, improvements and safety assessments must be made before applying them to real medical applications.
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