CD44 tagged hyaluronic acid - chitosan liposome carrier for the delivery of berberine and doxorubicin into lung cancer cells

Liposomes are unique biomolecular, capable of loading both hydrophilic and hydrophobic molecules and delivered into the biological system. Liposomes (L) coated with hyaluronic acid (HA) and chitosan (CS) carrier system was fabricated. Berberine (BER) and doxorubicin (DOX) were encapsulated to enhance drug proliferation and therapeutic effect in lung cancer cells. The FTIR, XRD, SEM, and TEM techniques were carried out for functional group identification, crystallinity, and surface morphology analysis, respectively. In-vitro drug release confirms the sustained release of BER and DOX in various physiological environments. HA-CS@BER&DOX-L has good penetration ability and higher cytotoxicity effect in the A549 cells, and the IC50 value of HA-CS@BER&DOX-L is 89.19 μg/300 μL. The pure liposome showed a negligible cytotoxicity effect, and the HA-CS@BER&DOX-L could efficiently induce the apoptosis of A549 cells. The cellular uptake analysis of the HA-CS@BER&DOX-L effectively targeted and entered the A549 cells and clearly observed C. elegans images. Hence, the proposed system will be a potential treatment methodology to enhance the cytotoxicity of the A549 cancer cells and be useful to future drug administration methodology development.