Biocompatibility and potential anticancer activity of gadolinium oxide (Gd2O3) nanoparticles against nasal squamous cell carcinoma

Q: What nanoparticle system is developed for curcumin delivery?

The study fabricates BSA-coated gadolinium oxide nanoparticles (Gd2O3@BSA) and loads curcumin to form Gd2O3@BSA-CUR for evaluation against nasal squamous cell carcinoma.

Q: How is curcumin released from the prepared nanoparticles?

Curcumin release from Gd2O3@BSA-CUR occurs in a sustained and pH-dependent manner.

Q: What anticancer and biosafety results are reported in vitro and in vivo?

In vitro, Gd2O3@BSA shows excellent biosafety toward HFF2 normal cells, while Gd2O3@BSA-CUR demonstrates the greatest anticancer potential against RPMI 2650 and CNE-1 cancer cell lines. The nanoparticles show minor hemolytic effect (<3%) and are considered completely safe in an in vivo subacute toxicity study.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Noah

Chemotherapy is gradually losing ground in cancer care due to severe adverse effects and systemic toxicity, while nanomedicine offers a more effective approach. This study fabricates a biocompatible bovine serum albumin (BSA)–coated gadolinium oxide nanoparticle carrier (Gd2O3@BSA) for curcumin (CUR) delivery and evaluates physicochemical properties and anticancer potential against nasal squamous cell carcinoma. Gd2O3@BSA-CUR forms ~26 nm spheres with zeta-potential around −36 mV and high CUR loading. Sustained, pH-dependent CUR release is observed, with excellent biosafety toward HFF2 normal cells and strongest anticancer activity versus RPMI 2650 and CNE-1 cells. Minor hemolysis (<3%) and no adverse findings in in vivo subacute toxicity support potential for further development.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Sun and Kou BMC Biotechnology (2024) 24:53 [https://doi.org/10.1186/s12896-024-00877-y](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12896-024-00877-y) BMC Biotechnology RESEARCH Open Access Biocompatibility and potential anticancer activity of gadolinium oxide (Gd2 O3) nanoparticles against nasal squamous cell carcinoma Xiaopeng Sun 1,2 and Bo Kou 1* Abstract Chemotherapy as a cornerstone of cancer treatment is slowly being edged aside owing to its severe side effects and systemic toxicity. In this case, nanomedicine has emerged as an effective tool to address these drawbacks. Herein, a biocompatible carrier based on bovine serum albumin (BSA) coated gadolinium oxide nanoparticles (Gd2O3@BSA) was fabricated for curcumin (CUR) delivery and its physicochemical features along with its potential anticancer activity against nasal squamous cell carcinoma were also investigated. It was found that the fabricated Gd2O3@BSA containing CUR (Gd2O3@BSA-CUR) had spherical morphology with hydrodynamic size of nearly 26 nm, zeta-potential of-36 mV and high drug (CUR) loading capacity. Drug release profile disclosed that the release of CUR from the prepared Gd2O3@BSA-CUR nanoparticles occurred in a sustained-and pH-dependent manner. Also, in vitro cytotoxicity analysis revealed that the fabricated Gd2O3@BSA nanoparticles possessed excellent biosafety toward HFF2 normal cells, while Gd2O3@BSA-CUR appeared to display the greatest anticancer potential against RPMI 2650 and CNE-1 cancer cell lines. The results also show that the Gd2O3@BSA nanoparticles were compatible with the blood cells with minor hemolytic effect (< 3%) . The manufactured NPs were found to be completely safe for biological applications in an in vivo subacute toxicity study. Taken together, these finding substantiate the potential anticancer activity of Gd2O3@BSA-CUR nanoparticles against nasal squamous cell carcinoma, but the results obtained demand further studies to assess their full potential. Keywords Gadolinium oxide, Albumin, Curcumin, Nanoparticles, Nasopharyngeal carcinoma, Drug delivery *Correspondence: Bo Kou [evankbo@proton. me](evankbo@proton. me); [evankbo@outlook.com](evankbo@outlook.com) 1Department of Otorhinolaryngology head and neck surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710061, Shaanxi, China 2Department of Otorhinolaryngology head and neck surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi ’an Medical University, Xi’an 710000, Shaanxi, China © The Author(s) 2024. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit [http://](http://)[ ](http://)[creativecommons.org/l](creativecommons.org/l)icenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. Sun and Kou BMC Biotechnology (2024) 24:53 Introduction Cancer as an intricate disease, is the second life threatening disease after cardiovascular disease and accounting for almost 10 million death along with an estimated 19.3 million new cancer cases in 2020 [1]. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), as a malignant tumor initiated from head and neck epithelial cell transformation, accounted for 0.7% of global ca

FAQs

What nanoparticle system is developed for curcumin delivery?

The study fabricates BSA-coated gadolinium oxide nanoparticles (Gd2O3@BSA) and loads curcumin to form Gd2O3@BSA-CUR for evaluation against nasal squamous cell carcinoma.

How is curcumin released from the prepared nanoparticles?

Curcumin release from Gd2O3@BSA-CUR occurs in a sustained and pH-dependent manner.

What anticancer and biosafety results are reported in vitro and in vivo?

In vitro, Gd2O3@BSA shows excellent biosafety toward HFF2 normal cells, while Gd2O3@BSA-CUR demonstrates the greatest anticancer potential against RPMI 2650 and CNE-1 cancer cell lines. The nanoparticles show minor hemolytic effect (<3%) and are considered completely safe in an in vivo subacute toxicity study.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Noah