Functionalization of Mesoporous Carbon by Bovine Serum Albumin for Application in an Electrochemically Controlled Delivery System of Imatinib Anticancer Drug

Abstract

Background: Imatinib (IM) is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that targets the growth factor receptors. IM has demonstrated remarkable clinical efficacy across multiple cancer types. IM abrogates the activity of the Bcr-Abl oncoprotein, leading to the inhibition of cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis. However, side effects may negatively affect its efficiency. Objective: This prompted us to incorporate IM into nanostructured Bovine Serum Albumin- Coated Mesoporous carbon carriers (BSA/CMK-3) and to evaluate the electrochemically controlled release of the IM@BSA/CMK-3 nanoformulation in an in vitro model. Methods: The physicochemical characteristics of the IM@BSA/CMK-3 nanocapsules were examined using Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), Ultraviolet- Visible (UV-Vis), Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and cyclic voltammetry analyses. Results: It was found that BSA/CMK-3 is an efficient carrier with IM loading as much as 84.6% in 0.1 M phosphate-buffered solution (PBS, pH 7.0) for 3 hours. BSA/CMK-3, due to the presence of functional groups (amino and carboxyl) in BSA, forms strong hydrogen bonds with the IM drug. We demonstrated that BSA/CMK-3 is a sensitive and efficient platform, and that BSA increases the stability of the IM@BSA/CMK-3 interface-- modified Screen-Printed Carbon Electrode (SPCE) and controls the release of the IM drug from the IM@BSA/CMK-3 hybrid. Furthermore, 81.4% of IM could be released upon application of +0.9 V for 2 hours at the IM@BSA/CMK-3 interface into PBS (0.1 M, pH 4.0). Furthermore, kinetic models were evaluated, and it was found that the drug release was best fit to the Higuchi model. Discussion: The BSA/CMK-3 nanohybrid, due to the presence of functional groups-rich BSA, seemed to provide effective loading and controlled electrochemical release of the IM drug. Conclusion: The electrochemically released IM drug loaded onto BSA/CMK-3 offers substantial potential for drug delivery applications.