Investigation of Nanosponge Based Delivery of Rutin and Brucine for Cancer Therapy

Background: Both rutin and brucine can suppress tumor growth mainly through the induction of apoptosis. This study aims to evaluate the potential of nanosponge based delivery to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of rutin and brucine combination against cancer. Materials and Methods: Rutin and brucine nanosponges were prepared separately by employing the quasi-emulsion solvent diffusion method. The formulations were examined for various pharmaceutical properties as well as antioxidant and cytotoxicity effects. Results: The prepared nanosponges resulted in higher drug encapsulation (81% and 88% for rutin and brucine, respectively). FTIR, DSC, and XRD confirm the successful entrapment of bioactives and amorphous dispersion without drug-excipient interactions. Scanning electron microscopy revealed spherical, non-aggregated particles with size range of 300-400 nm. In vitro release studies demonstrated sustained drug release from nanosponges compared to pure bioactives. The DPPH radical scavenging assay showed that combined delivery of nanosponges produced superior antioxidant activity, displaying a synergetic effect at lower concentrations (10-50 µg/mL). Notably, cytotoxic effect on HaCaT cell lines showed that the combination of delivery leads to ~4 fold improvement in potency with marked reduction in IC50 (20.66 µg/mL) than individual administration. Conclusion: Combination administration using developed nanosponges led to a notable rise in antioxidant activity as well as enhanced anticancer activity, suggesting that this could be a viable strategy for cancer therapy.