Circumventing paclitaxel resistance in breast cancer cells using a nanoemulsion system and determining its efficacy <i>via</i> an impedance biosensor
Farnoosh Attari, Habibullah Hazim, Ashkan Zandi, Zeinab Mazarei, Hasan Rafati
Abstract
even after three days. However, the employment of the reagent TPGS (inhibitor of drug resistance) combined with paclitaxel could partially obviate PTX resistance. Next, the nanoemulsion form of PTX (PTX-NE) was fabricated employing the essential oil of the Satureja khuzestanica plant and was characterized using DLS and TEM methods. Our data showed that after 72 hours, PTX-NE at 250 nM concentration could induce a 50% reduction in cell viability. Moreover, annexin/PI and cell cycle analysis confirmed the apoptotic effect of PTX-NE on cancer cells. Lastly, we measured the impedance of MDA-MB-231 cells treated with the free and nanoemulsion forms of PTX. A significant decrease in the mean impedance of PTX-NE treated cells could be observed after 40 hours. To conclude, we have demonstrated here that PTX-NE could circumvent resistance and induce apoptosis in PTX-resistant breast cancer cells, which could be inferred from their impedance measurement.