Polysaccharide-Based Lotus Seedpod Surface-Like Porous Microsphere as an Efficient Drug Carrier for Cancer Treatment

Yuanbo Wu,1,* Jiandong Zhang,2,* Jiangwei Ni,2 Zhihao Yang,2 Kun Chen,2 Liangcheng Zheng,2 Zhifeng He2 1Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Liangcheng Zheng; Zhifeng He Email dr.zlc@163.com zhif_he@126.comBackground: This study aimed to evaluate the properties and functions of polysaccharide-based porous microsphere (PPM) for drug delivery, as well as its inhibitory effect on malignant tumors.Materials and Methods: PPM was prepared using the inverse emulsion polymerization method. FT-IR measurements were conducted to measure the wavenumber of PPM. Particle size distribution was tested with a particle analyzer, and surface morphologies of PPM were observed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Dialysis method, Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), and cell apoptosis analysis were adopted to evaluate the drug release, cytotoxicity and biocompatibility of mitomycin-C (MMC), respectively. Finally, an in vivo study was performed in C57BL/6 mice to confirm the function of MMC-loaded PPM on tumor growth.Results: FT-IR spectra proved the successful preparation of MMC-loaded PPM. PPM had an average size of 25.90 ± 0.34 μm and then increased to 30.10 ± 0.20 μm after drug loading. Under SEM, the surface morphology was lotus seedpod surface-like, with macropits on the surface and micropores in macropits. Compared with the free MMC group, MMC-loaded PPM exhibited a delayed drug release rate in a pH-dependent manner and higher cell viability. Flow cytometry results showed that the cell apoptosis in the PPM/MMC group was lower than that in the free MMC group. In vivo experiment revealed the inhibitory efficacy of MMC-loaded PPM on malignant tumors.Conclusion: In summary, MMC-loaded PPM exhibited favorable surface morphology, sustained drug release ability, nontoxicity and excellent biocompatibility, suggesting that PPM might be a potential drug carrier for tumor treatment.Keywords: polysaccharide-based porous microsphere, tumor treatment, mitomycin-C, drug release, inverse emulsion polymerization