Nanoinjection Platform for Drug Delivery in Breast Cancer Therapeutics

Abstract

Conventional nanomaterial-based drug delivery systems are often limited by rapid burst release, poor cellular uptake, drug degradation, and high local drug concentrations, reducing therapeutic efficacy. To address these challenges, a dual strategy is presented, integrating i) doxorubicin encapsulation within thermostable nanoarchaeosomes (NAs), derived from archaeal lipids, and ii) silicon nanotubes (SiNTs)-based nanoinjection for intracellular delivery. This approach enables efficient transport of nanoarchaeosome-loaded doxorubicin (NAD) into MCF-7 breast cancer cells, inducing membrane perturbation and achieving controlled drug release over 700 h. NAD–SiNTs exhibit potent cytotoxicity, with an IC₅₀ of 60 nm, 23-fold lower than free doxorubicin, while maintaining high biocompatibility in NIH-3T3 fibroblasts. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis revealed 44% necrosis in MCF-7 cells post-treatment with NAD–SiNTs. Moreover, chick embryo assays and angiogenesis gene expression studies confirm that NAD–SiNTs suppress tumor vasculature genes, effectively inhibiting angiogenesis. These findings position NAD–SiNTs as a promising drug delivery platform, enabling sustained and targeted breast cancer therapy.