https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3889-1529
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ABSTRACT
The combination of dopamine with anticancer drugs can result in enhanced anticancer activity. Polymer-drug conjugates (PDCs) containing anticancer drugs, such as platinum-based drugs, and doxorubicin together with dopamine were prepared. PDCs were characterized followed by in vitro cytotoxicity studies using pheochromocytoma (PC12) cell lines. The particle size analysis revealed the particles sizes of the PDCs in the range of 15.68–179.8 nm with PDI in the range of 0.373–0.687. T3 and T6 displayed promising cytotoxic effects with IC50 values of 5.25 and 11.56 μg/mL when compared to the free drugs (29.65 μg/mL for K2PtCl4 and 14.96 μg/mL for procaine). The findings revealed that combining dopamine with anticancer drugs is a promising approach to develop effective therapeutics for the treatment of cancer.
GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT
Acknowledgments
The financial support of Govan Mbeki Research and Development Centre, University of Fort Hare, South Africa Medical Research Council, and National Research Foundation, South Africa towards this research is hereby acknowledged.
Data availability
All the data associated with the research are reported in the manuscript.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Additional information
Funding
Notes on contributors
Tobeka Naki
Ms. Tobeka Naki is a lecturer at the Department of Chemistry, University of Fort Hare, South Africa. She is currently a PhD student. Her research is focused on the design and in vitro cytotoxicity studies of nanocarriers for the treatment of cancer. She is currently developing nanocarriers for brain targeting and the emphasis is on evaluating the toxic side effects of drug-loaded nanocarriers to the brain.
W. Matshe
Mr. W. Matshe holds a BSc degree in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from Stellenbosch University (South Africa), and a BSc (Hons) in Pharmacology from the University of Pretoria. His primary research focus is on the development of polymer therapeutics for the treatment of malaria. William works at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (South Africa) where he started as an intern working on the development and characterization of modified polymer-based materials. He is currently a junior researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (South Africa), working under the stewardship of Dr Mohammed Balogun – lead investigator and research team leader of the Biopolymer Modification and Therapeutics laboratory.
Philemon Ubanako
Dr Philemon Ubanako is a postdoctoral fellow at Wits Advanced Drug Delivery Platform, Department of Pharmacology, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa. Her research is focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms of cell-nanoparticle interactions in carcinogenesis. She also designs and runs cell-based in vitro cytotoxicity and biochemical assays for BRICS projects which includes in silico design, chemical synthesis, and biological evaluation of small molecules inhibitors of the WNT signalling pathway in colorectal cancer.
Samson A. Adeyemi
Dr Samson. A. Adeyemi is a postdoctoral fellow at Wits Advanced Drug Delivery Platform, Department of Pharmacology, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa. He is currently involved in the design and fabrication of intelligent, targeted nanoconstructs as delivery cargoes for cancer nanomedicines. He also performs apt and in-depth in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo characterization of smart nanoparticulate systems for optimum therapeutic effects.
M.O. Balogun
Dr. Mohammed Balogun BSC (Hons) degree in Biochemistry from the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Nigeria, and PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Pretoria. He spent three months of his post-doctoral studies as a visiting researcher in the Polymer Therapeutics Lab of Professor Maria J. Vicent at the CIPF, Valencia, Spain. His research focus has primarily been on malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, which are the major infectious diseases that have historically plagued the African continent. Upon joining the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, South Africa, he became the lead investigator and research team leader of the Biopolymer Modification & Therapeutics Laboratory, which is the first dedicated research laboratory in South Africa established for the design and development of polymer therapeutics for infectious diseases of poverty. The lab also engages in the development of functional polymeric materials for combating antimicrobial resistance. He is the technical leader of the Functional Polymers Platform of the CSIR’s Center for Nanostructures and Advanced Materials that focuses on the design, synthesis and modification of biopolymers.
S. Sinha Ray
Prof. Suprakas Sinha Ray is a Chief Researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Pretoria, South Africa. He was awarded a Ph.D. in physical chemistry by the University of Calcutta in 2001 and is the Manager of the Center for Nanostructures and Advanced Materials and Director of the DSI-CSIR Nanotechnology Innovation Center. He is also affiliated with the University of Johannesburg as a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Applied Chemistry. Prof. Ray’s current research focus is on advanced nanostructured materials and their applications.
Yahya E. Choonara
Professor Yahya E. Choonara is a Professor of Pharmaceutics, Director of the Wits Advanced Drug Delivery Platform (WADDP) and South African National Research Foundation Chair in Pharmaceutical Biomaterials and Polymer-Engineered Drug Delivery Technologies based in the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology at the University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg, South Africa). His research is at the forefront of producing targeted and personalized medicines to treat infectious, hereditary and lifestyle diseases in which he continues to make a major impact on generating intellectual property. He received many prestigious awards recognizing his pioneering research including an African Union-The World Academy of Science Award for advancing pharmaceutical technology and innovation and several national awards for designing first-in-the-world drug delivery systems, neuro-pharmaceutical devices, biomaterials and nanomedicines to challenge conformist thinking in the field. He also received the SA Top Intellectual Property Creator Award for his 21 international granted patents including the world’s fastest dissolving matrix, drug-eluting devices, 3D-bioprinted platforms, nanomedicines, neuro-therapeutics and bio-inspired tissue engineering scaffolds. He is a member of prestigious academies including Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences, The World Academy of Sciences and the International Pharmaceutical Federation and authored >300 ISI-accredited publications, mentored >100 postgraduates/postdocs and inventor of 43 patents.
Blessing Atim Aderibigbe
Prof B.A. Aderibigbe is a Professor at the department of chemistry, University of Fort Hare, South Africa. Her research is focused on the design of polymer-drug delivery systems, wound dressings, and organic molecules with therapeutic effects. Currently, she is involved in the design of nanocarriers for brain targeting.