Detection and treatment of breast cancer by gold nanoparticles functionalized with anti-EPCAM antibody and Doxorubicin

Abstract

Pakistan has the highest incidence rate of breast cancer among Asian countries. One in nine women is at risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. Nanotechnology has transformed the field of cancer treatment and diagnosis by introducing more targeted approaches. Plant based nanoparticles are biocompatible with antioxidant activity and can be used to minimize cytotoxicity and enhance efficacy in diagnostics and therapeutics. Plant based gold nanoparticles are biocompatible, ecofriendly and provide versatile functionalization. In this study, ethanol and water-based AuNPs were synthesized by the extract of Fagonia arabica followed by their characterization using UV/VIS spectroscopy, SEM, EDX, XRD, FTIR. Functionalization by PEG 600 diacid stabilized the AuNPs and increased the biocompatibility of AuNPs leading to conjugation of anti-EPCAM antibody and doxorubicin by using EDC/NHS chemistry. Anti-EPCAM antibody conjugated with AuNPs bound to the EPCAM receptors in MCF-7 cells were detected by LSPR properties of AuNPs. This study compared the antioxidant activity of the extract of Fagonia arabica and ethanol AuNPs and water AuNPs. The biocompatibility of bare and pegylated ethanol and water-based AuNPs and ethanolic extract of Fagonia arabica was evaluated by testing hemolytic activity on blood samples. This study also provides insights on the conjugation of doxorubicin and anti-EPCAM antibody on both types of gold nanoparticles. EPCAM receptors were detected on MCF-7 by anti-EPCAM conjugated AuNPs, The drug loading efficiency of both types of AuNPs is compared. The standard curve of doxorubicin was plotted to find the in-vitro drug release kinetics. This study investigated the cytotoxicity of conjugated AuNPs with doxorubicin to find the better targeted drug delivery vehicle by performing MTT assay on HEK-293, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines. This research paves the way for targeted drug delivery and disease diagnosis.