Alginate-coated caseinate nanoparticles for doxorubicin delivery: Preparation, characterisation, and in vivo assessment.

Natural protein-based nanoparticles are promising nano-vehicles for the delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs. Caseinate nanoparticles loaded with doxorubicin (CasNPs-DOX) have been surface-modified with the natural polysaccharide alginate to generate the novel nanocarrier Alg-CasNPs-DOX. The fabricated nanoparticles have been characterised by transmission electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, fluorescence spectroscopy, and zeta potential measurement. Drug encapsulation and release profiles were also investigated. In vivo studies were conducted to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of this novel drug delivery system in tumour-bearing mice. The biodistribution and toxicity of the nano-formulation were also assessed. The results showed that encapsulation of DOX in Alg-CasNPs-DOX not only led to controlled and sustained drug release but also significantly enhanced the effectiveness of DOX against Ehrlich carcinoma. Moreover, no significant changes were observed in liver and kidney enzymes, indicating the selective delivery of DOX to the tumour site, thus minimising DOX toxicity to certain vital organs. Accordingly, Alg-CasNPs-DOX was shown as a promising DOX nanocarrier for improving the therapeutic efficacy of DOX against cancer compared to that of free DOX.