Enhanced Anti-Cancer Effect of Lipid-coated Cisplatin Nanoparticles on HNSCC

Objectives: Cisplatin (CDDP) as the first line chemotherapeutic agents for the head/neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) exhibits notable side-effects such as nephrotoxicity, neurotoxicity and ototoxicity. Emerging evidence shows that lipid-coated cisplatin nanoparticles with excellent physical stability and biocompatibility significantly inhibit tumor growth. This pioneering study investigated the anti-cancer effects of synthesized lipid-coated CDDP nanoparticles on HNSCC cell lines.
Methods: The lipid-coated CDDP nanoparticles were synthesized based on the reversed-phase micro-emulsion method. Their morphology and physical properties were characterized by the transmission electronic microscope and Nanotrac Wave II, respectively. The loading efficiency of CDDP nanoparticles was determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The cytotoxicity of the lipid-coated CDDP nanoparticles was evaluated on the FaDu, SCC-15 and SCC-25 cells using CCK-8 kit. Meanwhile, the cellular uptake of the nanoparticles and cellular apoptosis were accessed by the confocal scanning laser microscope and flow cytometer, respectively.
Results: The synthesized spherical lipid-coated CDDP nanoparticles with an average diameter of 100 nm and loading efficiency around 80% showed significantly lower IC₅₀ than the CDDP in the HNSCC cell lines. The nanoparticles enabled to enhance the drug solubility, and degrade the lysosomes in the cells and significantly accounted for cellular apoptosis with reference to the CDDP.
Conclusions: The synthesized lipid-coated CDDP nanoparticles could enhance the anti-cancer effect on the HNSCC cell lines. The current findings may shed new light on developing novel therapeutic approaches to effectively manage this life-threatening carcinoma with low a survival rate.