SYNTHESIS AND EVALUATION OF MESOPOROUS SILICA NANOPARTICLES (MSN) LOADED COX-II INHIBITOR – MELOXICAM FOR TARGETED COLORECTAL CANCER TREATMENT

Polymer functionalised mesoporous silica nanoparticles hold great promise to enhance drug targeting and cell internalisation for cancer cells. Since the presence of abundant folate receptors on cancer cells, folic acid functionalised mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) were used as folate marker and polyethyleneimine was used to improve cell internalisation. Meloxicam was loaded into the pores of nanoparticles through –NH₂ linker and polyethyleneimine-folic acid was grafted onto mesoporous silica nanoparticles. The functionalised MSN were characterised for particle size, surface charge, and elemental analysis. The release of meloxicam from the functionalised nanoparticles exhibited sustained release through membrane diffusion drug release method. Cell viability and cytotoxicity study was performed using HT-29 Human Colon cancer cell line as an in-vitro model. The results of scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy demonstrated the presence of SiO₂ group and the particle size of functionalised nanoparticles to be between 200-800 nm. The zeta potential of the coated MSN exhibited positive surface charge, enhancing the targeting of negatively charged cancer cells and cell internalisation. Moreover, the cytotoxicity studies indicated the uptake of Meloxicam from the functionalised particles. The study provides evidence that polymeric coating eased the cell internalisation of MSN into the cancer cells. Results indicated that Meloxicam delivered with the help of mesoporous silica nanoparticles coated with polyethyleneimine and folic acid increased the in vitro cytotoxicity, enhancing antitumor activity.