Studies on neuropeptide Y in the treatment of breast cancer

Abstract

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is used to treat various ailments like anxiety, epilepsy, cancer, etc. as a potential biomolecule and preliminary trials showed its efficacy against breast cancer. It undergoes rapid degradation after administration and shows instability (instability index of 60.31), low oral bioavailability and penetration through biological membranes due to specialized storage condition (-20 oC). To overcome such issues, the development of nanotechnology-enabled drug delivery systems offer better targeted delivery with higher entrapment efficiency and lesser undesirable side effects and toxicity. Peptide delivery systems in the form of inclusion complex, lipoplexes, polyplexes and nanoclusters using NPY is a next-generation advanced bioactive-based carrier system as it directly interferes with the cell growth leading to apoptosis in the case of breast cancer. newlineThis research study specifically aimed for the development and characterization of NPY-based advanced delivery systems as inclusion complex, lipoplexes, polyplexes and nanoclusters using various polymers, lipids and cross-linkers. All the novel NPY-based delivery systems were optimized using DoE and evaluated for various parameters. They were investigated for particle size, zeta potential, polydispersity index, % entrapment efficiency, release studies, solubility studies, permeability studies, morphological characteristics, ATR-FTIR, DSC, NMR, XRD and CD spectroscopies, stability studies and further tested for cell line activity and pharmacokinetic parameters. A summary of each formulation is discussed further. newlineAll NPY-based formulations were found ineffective against S. typhi, P. vulgaris and H. pylori whereas effective against gram-negative bacteria like E. coli, P. aeruginosa, Enterobacter species and some gram-positive bacteria like S. aureus, S. typhi and C. newline