What is it about?
Most drugs used in the treatment of cancer have several limitations like side effects because they attack both cancerous and healthy cells; high dosage requirements; insolubility in the body fluids; short metabolic half-lives, etc. We have here shown through various assays how chitosan, obtained from crustacean shells, can be used to surmount or circumvent some of the likely problems associated with a promising anticancer agent, gedunin (extracted from the neem plant).
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Why is it important?
Our investigations reveal that encapsulation with chitosan nanoparticles increases the anti-proliferative property of gedunin against lung cancer cells while demonstrating less belligerence towards normal cells. Chitosan encapsulation, as demonstrated in this research work, affords the options of drug targeting and delivery and controlled drug release. Thus, this portends a major stride in the chemotherapeutic management of cancer patients.
Perspectives
Cancer is a menace, accounting for the most number of deaths in the world, second only to cardiovascular disease. Sadly, patients die more from chemotherapy-induced toxicity than the complications of the disease. Therefore, it is my sincere hope that this work contributes to the ongoing discussions to improve the prognosis and outlook of cancer patients.
CHUKWUMAOBIM NWOKWU
Louisiana Tech University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Chitosan Nano-encapsulation Enhances Gedunin Cytotoxicity A gainst Human Non-small-cell Lung Cancer (NCI-H292) Cell Line, Drug Delivery Letters, November 2017, Bentham Science Publishers,
DOI: 10.2174/2210303107666170808110740.
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