Design and evaluation of redox responsive disulfide containing resveratrol loaded nanocarrier anti-cancer activity in the MDA-MB-231 cell line

Redox-responsive resveratrol (RES)-loaded nanocarrier (R-NC) was fabricated using stearic acid-disulfide-methoxy poly (ethylene glycol) (SA-SS-mPEG) as a potential carrier for stimuli-responsive drug release. The synthesized redox responsive SA-SS-mPEG was evaluated through FTIR, ¹H NMR, DTA/TGA and XRD analysis and was further utilized to develop R-NC by nanoprecipitation method. The NC was characterized for physicochemical properties and its susceptibility to redox and intracellular acidic pH were assessed through alterations in the size of the NC and release of resveratrol from the R-NC in the pH 5 & 7.4 medium with presence or absence of glutathione (GSH). The size of the NC was observed to increase from 140 nm to 1005 nm in the presence of an excessive concentration of GSH/pH 5 medium while showing lesser changes in the absence of GSH and pH 7.4. Drug release profiling of the R-NC confirmed that the presence of GSH in the pH 5 medium influenced the rapid release of the resveratrol by 89.23 ± 1.03% in 6 h compared to the GSH presence pH 7.4 (79.83 ± 1.15% in 6 h) and GSH free pH 5 & 7.4 medium respectively 59.67 ± 0.78% & 47.22 ± 1.18% in 18 h. R-NC, probably encompassed in cytotoxicity, reduces cancer cell proliferation with apoptotic regulation. Biocompatibility of the NC was confirmed through hemolytic assay, which showed that the NC deliberated safety up to the concentration of 200 µg/mL. Overall results accentuated the suitability of the developed R-NC for stimuli gated redox and pH-responsive drug delivery in the treatment of cancer.