Paclitaxel and curcumin co-bound albumin nanoparticles having antitumor potential to pancreatic cancer

Albumin nanoparticles are considered to be an effective way to load water-insoluble anticancer drugs and target tumors via the gp60-mediated pathway. Herein, we fabricated an albumin nanoparticle formulation for co-loading paclitaxel (PTX) and curcumin (CCM), both of which have prominent anticancer efficacy, via nanoparticle albumin-bound (Nab^TM) technology using high-pressure homogenization. The PTX/CCM co-bound albumin nanoparticles (PTX/CCM Alb-NPs) had a slightly greater particle size of ~250 nm than that of plain PTX Alb-NPs and CCM Alb-NPs (~234 and ~134 nm, respectively), with spherical surface morphology and stable size maintenance. However, the zeta potential of PTX/CCM Alb-NPs (ca. −30 mV) was not significantly different from that of PTX or CCM Alb-NPs. The loaded PTX and CCM were released gradually from the PTX/CCM Alb-NPs over ~24 h (97.7 ± 1.7% and 76.2 ± 0.5%, respectively). Furthermore, PTX/CCM Alb-NPs appeared to be efficiently internalized into Mia Paca-2 cells and exhibited a 71% increased IC₅₀ versus PTX Alb-NPs in terms of cytotoxicity to Mia Paca-2 cells. These results suggest that PTX/CCM Alb-NPs are a new potential anticancer agent for combination therapy.