CO-delivery of paclitaxel and indocyanine green with Koliphore-elp35/folic acid nanoparticles for NIR-triggered chemo/photodynamic therapy in MCF-7 and MCF-10 cells

Drug delivery with photodynamic therapy may improve breast cancer treatment. Drug delivery based polymeric nanoparticles, especially those made from natural polysaccharides, are promising cancer treatment carriers due to their biocompatibility and potential. This study involved the synthesis of Koliphore-elp35/Folic Acid-conjugated (KoliFA) nanoparticles for the concurrent delivery of paclitaxel and the photosensitizer indocyanine green (ICG) to breast cancer cells, aiming to improve the effectiveness of combined chemotherapy and PDT by using near-infrared (NIR) laser to activate the treatment. The cancer MCF-7 and normal MCF-10 breast cell lines were exposed to the nanoparticle formulation. The MTT assay evaluated the cytotoxic effects and established the IC₅₀ values. The result showed that KoliFA is a near sphere-shaped particle with the average size of core KoliFA 390 nm and a layer of FA on the outer side of the nanoparticles its size increased to 1372 nm after loading PTX, and the zeta potential of KoliFA −12.5 mV decreased to −11mV after loading. The cytotoxicity of the KoliFA-PTX-ICG in MCF-7 cells increased, and reducing IC₅₀ to 9.360 μg/ml compared to MCF-10 cells, this decrease suggests that PDT effect of ICG is a key factor in improving treatment efficacy by increasing ROS generation and increased sensitivity to treatment. Flow cytometry indicated increased apoptosis in MCF-7 cells after treatment with KoliFA-PTX-ICG + NIR laser. This study demonstrated that the KoliFA-PTX-ICG could be a promising platform for combination chemo-photodynamic therapy for breast cancer treatment.