Etoposide encased folic acid adorned mesoporous silica nanoparticles as potent nanovehicles for enhanced prostate cancer therapy: synthesis, characterization, cellular uptake and biodistribution.

The present research was motivated by the dire need to design a targeted and safe Nano-vehicle for delivery of Etoposide (ETE), which would be tolerant of normal cells and exclusively toxic to prostate cancer cells. The folic acid functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) constructed by using a facile method acting as a unique selective platform for ETE delivery for effective prostate cancer treatment. FA@MSNs possessed good payload and encouraging in vitro release was obtained for ETE caged inside FA-MSNs compared with ETE-MSNs alone. Further, FA@MSNs exhibited an improved blood compatibility compared with pristine silica. The cellular analysis on PC-3 and LNCaP cell lines unveiled an excellent performance of cytotoxicity. Apoptosis assay confirmed a programmed cell death ruling out necrosis. Most importantly enhanced cellular uptake was obtained for FITC#FA@MSNs. In addition, pharmacokinetic and biodistribution studies in healthy mice indicated a favourable longer circulation time and reduced plasma elimination rate for ETE/FA@MSNs than free ETE. Further, histological and cell cytotoxicity results proved that nanocarriers themselves were safe without any noticeable toxicity. The results showed that FA@MSNs were ideal candidates for safe and effective delivery of ETE and hold a substantial potential as drug delivery vehicles for enhanced prostate cancer therapy.