Engineering of mesoporous silica nanoparticles for release of ginsenoside CK and Rh2 to enhance their anticancer and anti-inflammatory efficacy: in vitro studies

The current study highlights the fabrication of drug delivery system by utilizing 200 nm mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNPs) with 4-nm pore size, as a carrier system for delivery ginsenoside compound K (CK) and Rh2 to enhance their efficacy. The two pharmacologically imperative ginsenosides, CK and Rh2, were loaded to the MSNPs to prepare MSNPs-CK and MSNPs-Rh2, respectively. A fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) fluorescent dye was combined in the MSNPs carrier system, in order to trace the cellular uptake of ginsenoside-loaded nanoparticles for in vitro studies. Following purification, the so-prepared MSNPs-CK-FITC and MSNPs-Rh2-FITC were characterized by several analytical techniques, which includes, high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), ¹H NMR, field emission transmission electron microscopy (FE-TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), x-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). In vitro cytotoxicity assay in HaCaT skin cells, A549 lung cancer cells, HepG2 liver carcinoma cells, and HT-29 colon cancer cell lines were tested for MSNPs-CK-FITC and MSNPs-Rh2-FITC. The results demonstrate the excellent biocompatibility of nanoparticles in normal cell lines (HaCaT skin cells) and anticancer efficacy in all the tested cancer cell lines at 10-μM concentration. Additionally, the in vitro anti-inflammatory behavior of MSNPs-CK-FITC and MSNPs-Rh2-FITC were checked in RAW264.7 (murine macrophage) cell lines. The outcomes showed higher anti-inflammatory efficacy of MSNPs-CK-FITC and MSNPs-Rh2-FITC as compared to standard ginsenosides CK and Rh2 in RAW264.7 cell lines. Thus, with 200 nm MSNPs carrier system for the delivery ginsenosides CK and Rh2, a high amount of loading and increasing in vitro pharmacological efficacies of ginsenosides were realized. This study may provide useful insights for designing and improving the applicability of MSNPs for ginsenoside delivery.