Preparation and evaluation of hydrophobin-pirarubicin glucosamine-containing nanoparticles as an anticancer formulation

Pirarubicin nanoparticles were prepared using the amphiphilic protein hydrophobin with a particle size of 84.13 ± 2.23 nm as a carrier. Furthermore, glucosamine was incorporated into the formulation to develop glucosamine-containing pirarubicin hydrophobin nanoparticles with a particle size of 111.41 ± 3.62 nm. The anticancer effects of the nanoparticles were evaluated in C26 cells and tumor-bearing mice, compared with pirarubicin alone. The evaluation in C26 cells revealed that nanoparticles with added glucosamine exhibited significantly more vigorous anticancer activity than nanoparticles alone. Moreover, glucosamine nanoparticles demonstrated a considerably higher tumor-site antitumor effect in tumor-bearing mice than nanoparticles and pirarubicin. These results suggest that glucosamine-containing pirarubicin hydrophobin nanoparticles are highly efficient and selective, holding promise for future clinical applications.