Evaluation of clinical effectiveness of paclitaxel and ursolic acid co-loaded liposomes as enhanced treatment for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

Purpose: To enhance the clinical effectiveness of paclitaxel (PTX) by co-delivery with ursolic acid (UA) for the treatment of head and neck cancer Methods: Co-loaded liposomes of PTX and UA (UA-PTX-LiP) were prepared by thin-film hydration method. Their size and loading efficiency were determined using dynamic light scattering (DLS) technique and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), respectively. The effectiveness of UA-PTX-LiP against HSC-3 human head and neck cancer cell-lines was compared with that of PTX liposome (PTX-LiP) using systemic cell-based in vitro evaluation with MTT assay. Fluorescent microscopy was used for cell uptake studies. Results: The size of the prepared UA-PTX-LiP was 126.5 ± 3.22 nm. The ratiometric system for PTX and UA as liposomes revealed significantly enhanced cytotoxicity, with comparatively lower IC50, when compared to individual PTX-Lip. Fluorescent microscopy revealed the internalization ability of UA-PTX-LiP by targeted delivery of PTX in HSC-3 human head and neck cancer cell-line. Conclusion: These results show that UA-PTX-LiP successfully enhances the therapeutic potential and clinical outcomes of PTX in head-and-neck cancer, and also demonstrate the useful effect of combination of UA and PTX in chemotherapy.