In Vivo Evaluation of Nanostructured Lipid Carrier Systems (NLCs) in Mice Bearing Prostate Cancer Tumours

Abstract Nanostructure lipid carriers (NLCs) were developed for the delivery of curmumin (CRN), a potent anticancer agent with low bioavailability, for the treatment of prostate cancer. NLCs prepared using High Pressure Homogenization (HPH) with around 150 nm particle size, -40V ζ-potential and excellent long-term stability. Cellular uptake of CRN-SLN, showed nanoparticle localization in the cytoplasm around the nucleus. CRN-NLCs were assessed using flow cytometry and found to cause early and late apoptotic events at 100 μg/ml CRN concentrations. CRN-NLC nanoparticles were administrated to nude mice with LNCaP prostate cancer xenografts and demonstrated substantial tumour volume suppression (40%) with no weight loss compared to pure CRN (ethanolic solution). Overall, NLCs were proved a suitable carrier for passive drug delivery and cancer treatment.