Intracytoplasmic Trafficking of Nanoparticles based on Hyaluronic Acid and Chitosan for Targeted Delivery of Anticancer Drugs

Cancer diseases are characterized by high incidence and mortality worldwide. The main problem in cancer therapy is the lack of specificity of anti-cancer drugs. Therefore, the development of new methods of targeted delivery of anti-cancer drugs is an urgent task in oncology. Nanoparticles from hyaluronic acid and chitosan (HA:CS) were obtained using ionotropic gelation technology. The size of the nanoparticles was investigated using dynamic light scattering. Nanoparticles were obtained of a size of 100-400 nm. A physical association method has been developed for encapsulating nanoparticles with doxorubicin, a well-known antitumor drug, and dinitrosyl iron complex (DNIC; donor of nitric oxide). Using the method of dynamic light scattering, the surface potential of nanoparticles was measured. It was found that the resulting nanoparticles (HA-DOX:CS) were stable and had a surface potential of -45.6 meV. Using the method of confocal and FLIM microscopy, the localization of nanoparticles in cancer cells was studied. These methods have shown that nanoparticles pass through the cytoplasmic membrane and are localized inside the cells. It was also shown that nanoparticles (HA:CS-Rhod) were localized in the cytoplasm of African green monkey renal epithelial cells. It was found that the incorporation of DNIC into the composition of nanoparticles significantly increased the stability of DNIC, while prolonging the formation time and increasing the yield of nitric oxide. Thus, we have developed unique nanoparticles for the targeted delivery of antitumor drugs into cells.