Work

Preparation, Physicochemical Characterization and In Vitro Anticancer Evaluation of Metformin-and Celecoxib-Loaded Hyaluronic Acid-Coated Selenium Nanoparticles against Breast Cancer Cell Lines

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Objective: For the treatment of breast cancer, targeted pharmaceutical delivery systems with enhanced therapeutic efficacy and fewer side effects are desperately needed. The purpose of this work was to create, physicochemically describe, and assess the anticancer activity and in vitro drug release of hyaluronic acid (HA)-coated selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs-HA) loaded with either metformin (Met) or celecoxib (CXB) against breast cancer cell lines. Methods: Chemical reduction and HA surface functionalization were used to create drug-loaded SeNPs-HA. Ultraviolet-visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potential analysis, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used to characterize the nanoparticles. UV-Vis spectrophotometry was used to measure drug loading efficiency (LE), loading capacity (LC), and in vitro drug release at pH 5.5 and pH 7.4. The MTT test was used to assess the formulations' cytotoxic effects, at treatment concentrations of 222.55 mmol (Met) and 8.19 mmol (CXB), against the breast cancer cell lines MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, and 4T1 following 48 and 72 h of treatment; all experiments were performed independently at least five times (n ≥ 5). Results: The produced nanoparticles demonstrated effective drug loading, successful HA coating, and advantageous physicochemical properties. DLS analysis showed hydrodynamic diameters of 182.8 nm for bare SeNPs, increasing to 410.4 nm after HA coating, and 289.1 nm and 381.1 nm for Met-SeNPs-HA and CXB-SeNPs-HA, respectively. Zeta potential values were −23.84 mV (bare SeNPs), −16.38 mV (SeNPs-HA), −22.93 mV (Met-SeNPs-HA), and −26.24 mV (CXB-SeNPs-HA), confirming retention of a negative surface charge after coating and drug loading. While CXB-loaded SeNPs had a loading efficiency of 31.91% and a loading capacity of 86.92%, Met-loaded SeNPs demonstrated a loading efficiency of 62.21% and a loading capacity of 99.36%. HA-coated formulations decreased the first burst release and delivered a more sustained release profile at pH 5.5 and pH 7.4 compared with uncoated SeNPs; faster drug release was observed under acidic conditions. All formulations dramatically decreased the viability of MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, and 4T1 cells (P<0.001). The combined Met-SeNPs-HA+CXB-SeNPs-HA treatment showed the highest antiproliferative effect among the investigated formulations, lowering 4T1 cell viability to roughly 2.16% after 72 h. Conclusion: Met and CXB were successfully encapsulated by HA-coated SeNPs, bringing about prolonged and pH-responsive drug release as well as increased in vitro anticancer efficacy against breast cancer cell lines. These results imply that HA-functionalized SeNPs are a suitable nanocarrier for the regulated administration of Met and CXB in breast cancer treatment, and they call for additional preclinical research to assess their safety, therapeutic efficacy, and pharmacokinetic behavior.

Source: International Journal of Applied Pharmaceutics

DOI: 10.22159/ijap.2026v18i6.60482