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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.
Sec. Nanobiotechnology
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2025.1535793
This article is part of the Research Topic Nanodrug Delivery Strategies for Enhanced Cancer Chemo-Immunotherapy View all 3 articles
Bleomycin-Loaded Folic Acid-Conjugated Nanoliposomes: A Novel Formulation for Targeted Treatment of Oral Cancer
Provisionally accepted
Elham Saberian 1
Janka Jenčová 1
Andrej Jenča 1 Andrej Jenča 1 Fateme Salehipoor 2
Hadi Zare-Zardini 3*
Adriána Petrášová 1* Peter Džupa 1
Meysam Ebrahimifar 4 Mohammadreza Allahyartorkaman 5 Jozef Jenča 1- 1 University of Pavol Jozef Šafárik, Košice, Slovakia
- 2 Islamic Azad University Najafabad, Najafabad, Isfahan, Iran
- 3 Department of Biomedical Engineering, Meybod University, Meybod, Iran, Meybod, Yazd, Iran
- 4 Islamic Azad University of Shahreza, Shahreza, Iran
- 5 National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
Introduction: Targeted delivery of anticancer drugs holds great promise for enhancing therapeutic efficacy while minimizing adverse effects. The folate receptor (FR)-mediated approach offers a selective strategy to target cancer cells overexpressing FR. Bleomycin, an established antitumor antibiotic, suffers from limited efficacy due to poor diffusion into tumor cells. This study examined the anti-cancer potential of folate-targeted liposomal Bleomycin (FL-BLEOMYCIN) in comparison to non-targeted L-BLEOMYCIN on oral cavity cancer (CAL27). The study also investigated FL-Bleomycin's capacity to halt the cell cycle in the G2/M phase using flow cytometry.Methods: FL-Bleomycin was produced using thin-layer hydration, followed by incorporation of folic acid into nanoliposomes. To evaluate the release profile, drug release tests were carried out. Cytotoxicity of FL-Bleomycin, L-Bleomycin, and traditional Bleomycin was evaluated using cell viability assays. The cell cycle arrest caused by FL-Bleomycin was examined using flow cytometry. Finally, FL-Bleomycin uptake studies were performed to assess the internalization of FL-Bleomycin by CAL27 cells.The findings suggest that FL-Bleomycin is a potential method for delivering drugs precisely in tumors expressing folic acid receptors. Its potential for successful cancer treatment is shown by its higher internalization, improved cytotoxicity, and cell cycle prevention in CAL 27 cells. To find out how effective FL-Bleomycin is in vivo and whether it may be used to treat other FR-expressing tumors, more research is necessary.
Keywords: Nanoliposomes, folate receptor, Targeted Drug Delivery, Bleomycin, cancer therapy
Received: 27 Nov 2024; Accepted: 03 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Saberian, Jenčová, Jenča, Jenča, Salehipoor, Zare-Zardini, Petrášová, Džupa, Ebrahimifar, Allahyartorkaman and Jenča. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Hadi Zare-Zardini, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Meybod University, Meybod, Iran, Meybod, Yazd, Iran
Adriána Petrášová, University of Pavol Jozef Šafárik, Košice, 041 80, Slovakia
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