Cerium oxide decorated 5-fluorouracil loaded chitosan nanoparticles for treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a crucial role in the mammalian system in both normal and pathological conditions. Hence, this work prepared and characterized the ROS responsive cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2 NPs) decorated 5-fluorouracil (5FU) loaded chitosan (CS) nanoparticles (CS-5FU NPs) for enhanced anticancer activity in hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2 cells). CeO2 NPs decorated CS-5FU NPs were found to be spherical in shape and black dense aggregated particles sized 200 nm. The functional properties and cubic crystalline structure of CeO2 NPs were studied by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, respectively. Further, CS-5FU-CeO2 NPs attenuated the 2,2'-Azobis (2-methylpropionamidine) dihydrochloride (AAPH) induced ROS formation in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (NIH3T3 cells) while enhancing apoptosis in HepG2 cells by controlled delivery of 5FU. Furthermore, CS-5FU-CeO2 NPs have not exhibited toxicity to red blood cells (RBCs) and chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM). Hence, this work concluded that CS-5FU-CeO2 NPs synergistically enhanced anticancer activity in HepG2 cells through the regulation of ROS.