Clathrin-mediated endocytic uptake of PUFA enriched self-nanoemulsifying lipidic systems (SNELS) of an anticancer drug against triple negative cancer and DMBA induced preclinical tumor model.

The current studies envisage unravelling the underlying cellular internalisation mechanism of the systematically developed docetaxel (DTH) polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) enriched self-nanoemulsifying lipidic micellar systems (SNELS). The concentration-, time- and cytotoxicity-related effects of DTH-SNELS on triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) MDA-MB-231 and non-TNBC MCF-7 cell lines were assessed through Presto-blue assay. Subsequently, rhodamine-123 (Rh-123) loaded SNELS were employed for evaluating their internalisation through flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy, establishing it to be "clathrin-mediated" endocytic pathway. Apoptosis assay (65% cell death) and cell cycle distribution (47% inhibition at G2/M phase) further corroborated the cytotoxicity of DTH-SNELS towards cancerous cells. Biodistribution, histopathology and haematology studies indicated insignificant toxicity of the optimized formulation on vital organs. Preclinical anticancer efficacy studies using 7,12-dimethylbenzantracene (DMBA)-induced model construed significant reduction in breast tumor-volume. Overall, extensive in vitro and in vivo studies indicated the intracellular localization and cytotoxicity, suggesting DTH-SNELS as promising delivery systems for breast tumor therapeutics including TNBC.